Eternal Lovers
by RedBadger83
Summary: What if after Angel loses his soul, he realizes he still loves Buffy, and what if another moment of true happiness not only gave him back his soul but restored his humanity, made him human again? Rating NC21 Feedback is needed and craved.


**ETERNAL LOVERS **

I heard a noise from behind a mausoleum and went to check it out. It was

Angel. He was trying to scare me a little. He always said that sex was better after a good scare.

"Angelus, you scared me." I said.

"Good, I wanted to. You know what I always say, 'Sex is always better after a good scare'. It gets your adrenaline pumping. It makes your blood sweeter." Angel said walking over to me and giving me a kiss.

Soul or no soul, I still love him. I've always loved him. Since the first day we met, I was going to the Bronze. He stopped me outside, threw me a little box, and said 'Let's just say, I'm a friend.' His whole cryptic nature about him is what made me love him. Giles says it is rather poetic, a vampire in love with the slayer, and vice versa.

"You shouldn't be kissing me. You could get the flu." I said without thinking.

"I can't get sick, the whole vampire thing. It's cool, not getting sick, I mean. I would love to take you to Europe and have a picnic in the middle of the afternoon, but my fair complexion won't allow it." Angel said to me laughing. I laughed too. It's still taking some getting used to, hearing him laugh I mean. When he had his soul, I never heard him laugh, or never saw him smile, I mean really smile. It's kinda unnerving. It's okay. I like the feeling.

"Oh, stupid me, I forgot about the whole vampire not getting sick thing. I just want you to know, Angelus; I love you with or without your soul." I said to him reassuring him that he was the one and only love of my life.

"I love you, too. If I didn't love you, I'd be killing your friends off, one by one. Well, I'd still like to kill Xander. Please, just a nibble. He still doesn't like it, that I still love you, even without my soul. I think he's still in love with you." Angel said.

"Xander? No, he is with Cordelia. He **_loves _**her." I said.

"No, he's just knocking boots with her. It's just teenage hormones. He really loves you." Angelus said. He grabbed me in an embrace so tight that told me that if Xander or anyone tried to come between us that he would kill them. I would gladly let him. Angel or Angelus, whoever it is, is the love of my life, no one else. Not Xander, not Giles, Not Pike, Not Tyler, any of them. Granted I never dated Giles or Xander, but the other two, I did, we didn't sleep together though, as you well know. When Angel and I slept together, I gave him a short roster, with consisted of no one. When Angel and I met, face to face I mean, I was a virgin. I don't regret anything I've done with Angel or Angelus. At least he still loves me, soul, or no soul. That makes me feel a lot better.

"Well, I don't love him. I love you. It's always been you. It will always be you. May I ask you a question?" I said.

"Sure, my love. What is it?" Angel said.

"Would you want to have your soul back?" I said.

"Yes, a conscience would be good. Also, I would like to look at a human as just that, a lonely human, instead of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Although, looking at you that way is a given, with or without a soul, but that is more like dessert." Angel said.

Then these vamps showed up.

"Buffy, look out. You're not at 100 percent. Let me take care of them." Angel said.

"No, Angelus, you can't take them by yourself. I…" I said. I fainted from the flu.

"Buffy!" Angel said.

No answer from me though. Angel was really worried about me. He staked the vamps and ran to me. He picked me up and ran to Sunnydale Medical Center.

"Doctor, I need a doctor here." Angel said.

"What happened?" Dr. Wilkinson said.

Angel thought, _"I can't tell them the truth. If she is exposed as the slayer, it could be all our necks."_

"We were in Sunny Rest Cemetery, making out, when she passed out. She has that flu that's been going around." Angel said.

"Why were you making out with her? You could get it too." Dr. Wilkinson said to Angel.

"I can't get sick. Really strong immune system, and plus, I've had my flu shot this year. I can't get this flu. If I do I'll just stay in bed with Buffy and have her mom take care of us." Angel said to the doctor.

"Okay, still, she shouldn't have been out and about with this flu." Dr. Wilkinson said.

Two nurses appeared behind Dr. Wilkinson with a gurney. They placed me on it and wheeled me to Exam Room One. In just a few short minutes, they had slapped one of those tacky hospital bracelets on me, I was admitted to the hospital.

_"I'd better call Mrs. Summers and Giles."_ Angel thought.

"Nurse, is there a phone around here I can use?" Angel said to the pretty little red haired nurse.

"It's right over there, sir." She said in a polite little voice, while pointing at the pay phone down the hall.

"Thanks. You don't have to call me sir." Angel said.

He walked over to the phone and dialed my number.

"Hello?" Mom answered.

"Mrs. Summers?" Angel said.

"Yes, oh hi, Angelus. Buffy is not here right now. I'll tell her you called when she gets in." Mom said.

"Mrs. Summer, that is the reason I'm calling, Buffy is with me. I mean, we are at Sunnydale General. They just admitted her. I thought you'd want to be here." Angel said.

"Thanks, you know, I just now realized how much you love my daughter. You don't want to keep her from her friends and family. I'm glad she told me about the whole slaying identity and about you. I'm glad. She's gonna need someone to take care of her when I'm gone. At least you can't die and leave her. Please call me Joyce." Mom said.

"Thanks, but I'd rather call you Mom, if it's okay." Angel said.

"That's fine with me. You and my daughter are going to be very happy." Mom said.

"Good. I'd better call Giles and tell him." Angel said.

"He's here. We'll be over there soon, just give us a few minutes. We'll call everybody.. Bye, Angelus." Mom said.

"Bye, Mom." Angel said.

Angel sat in the waiting room and waited for Mom, Giles, and the others.

They all walked in.

"Angelus, what happened?" Giles said.

"Come onto some vamps that's what happened. I told her to stay back, but she fainted. I picked her up and ran here." Angel explained.

"I wish I could take her home. She just hates hospitals. When she was eight, her cousin, Celia, died in LA General. She was alone with her at the time. That was pretty traumatizing for her. She and Celia were really close. If Celia wasn't over at our house, Buffy was over there. They lived across the street from us, until Hank and I got divorced and Buffy and I moved here." Mom said.

"I, for one, am glad you did, Mom." Angel said.

They all looked puzzled at the notion of Angel calling Mom, well 'Mom'.

"Angelus, what were y'all doing patrolling anyway? She should have been at home, resting." Giles said, pointing a stern look Angel's way.

"I told her that, but she didn't listen. Said she **_needed _**to slay. Said she'd been in bed all day, and it was killing her that she wasn't doing her duty. She said half a slayer, was better than no slayer. Y'all know how she is, she can be very convincing." Angel said.

"Well, yes we do. She can be very stubborn. She gets that from me. According to what she told me about the other night, she gets that from me too." Mom said to the group. Everyone but Angel looked puzzled. Angel blushed.

"At least, now I know where she gets **_that_**. Whew." Angel said.

They wheeled me out of Exam Room One and over to them.

"Hey, baby. How are you feeling?' Mom asked.

"I feel fine. I feel well enough to go home." I said looking at Angel. He knew the type of medicine I needed.

Angel blushed. "Why are you blushing every few minutes, Angelus?" Giles said.

"Rupert!" Mom said hitting him in the head.

"Why is it you Summers women always resort to violence?" Giles said.

"It's the best way to get a point across. Angelus, wow that is a mouthful." I said.

"Why don't you just stick to Angel? Really, I don't mind. Even though I'm not the same Angel you fell in love with, it is still my name." Angel said.

"Angel, you didn't tell the doctor what we were doing when I fainted, did you?" I said.

"No, I told her we were making out and you fainted." Angel said.

"And the doctor almost cussed you out for that?" I said.

"Yeah. I gave her the 'I've got a really strong immune system, had my flu shot' routine. Then I told her if I get sick, I'll just stay in bed with you at your house, and your mom can take care of us. She got off my case really quick with that." Angel said

"We need to take her to her room now." The nurse said.

"No, I WANT TO GO HOME! I hate hospitals. PLEASE, LET ME GO HOME." I emoted with extreme feeling.

"Buffy, you need to stay here for a few days. Get your strength up. Then you and your boyfriend can make out or make love all you want." Dr. Wilkinson said to me.

"Okay, I'll stay, under two conditions Angel and my mom get to stay, even when visiting hours are over. I need them both around me to feel betterSecond: My friends are welcome anytime also, visiting hours or no. They won't be loud, I promise." I said.

"Alright. Your boyfriend and your mom can stay; your friends are welcome too." Dr. Wilkinson said.

"Thank you, Dr. Wilkinson." Mom and Angel said together.

They wheeled me into room 241. I thought that was a good sign, that I would either get well, or find a demon or both. I hope both. Beating the shit out of something makes me feel a hellava lot better. Angel's age is 241, which is why it is a good number for me.

"If you need anything, just buzz. I or one of the nurses will come and take care of you." Dr. Wilkinson said.

"Thank you." I said.

"She needs her rest now." Dr. Wilkinson said.

"They're not gonna get loud." I said sternly.

"Okay. They can stay, but you **_need_** rest. You won't get better without it." Dr. Wilkinson said.

"Okay, then the make out session I scheduled with Angel is out." I said jokingly.

"You are kidding, right?" Dr. Wilkinson asked.

"Yes, no more making out until I'm well. I like to make catty comments or little jokes when I don't feel well. You know try to hide it." I said.

"A lot of people do that. It is one of the best forms of medicine." Dr. Wilkinson said.

"Alright, I'll get some rest." I said wearily.

Dr. Wilkinson left.

"These vamps you 'came onto' as Angel put it, were they the normal variety or were they different in some way?" Giles asked.

"Normal. Nothing different about them. Although, I could be wrong. I fainted before I got a good look." I said.

"They looked pretty normal, I mean before I staked them." Angel said.

"Normal variety, huh? Good, at least no new threat while you're sick." Giles said.

"I'm thirsty. Angel, let's grab a coke or something from one of the vending machines in the hall. I'd like to walk a little." I said.

"Honey, the doctor said you need rest." Mom said.

"Mom, I think I know my body better than a perfect stranger, even though she just saw me naked." I said.

"She saw you naked? I'll rip her throat out." Angel said with his jealous tone, "Oh, you were kidding."

"I get that you get jealous, honey, but I'm not going anywhere." I said.

"Okay. Walk around the room a little. I'll get your coke. What do you prefer, Diet Coke, or Diet Dr. Pepper?" Angel said.

"Diet? Honey, I don't drink diet. I want the real thing. Oh, God. I need to stay out of the gutter." I said.

"I like you in the gutter. Makes **_us_** better. Now, I'm there. I'll go get you that drink. What do you want, Coke or Dr. Pepper?"

"Dr. Pepper. I like them both, but Dr. Pepper."

"Okay, Dr. Pepper it is." Angel said.

He walked out of the room, to get my drink.

"You two seriously need to stop being alone together, remember what happened last time." Giles said.

"You don't have to remind me. I know he lost his soul, but he's not killing people. He'd still like to kill Xander, but that's a given. I'd like to kill him some days myself. He also told me that he would like to have his soul back." I told them.

Angel came back in wielding an armful of drinks for everybody. He pitched them around the room. He opened mine and took a sip to make sure it was good enough for human consumption. He passed it to me. I drank hungrily. I stop my drinking and listened to more shoptalk.

"So normal, huh? That is good. Let's hope that there are no new threats until you are better." Giles said.

"And one more thing young lady." Mom said.

"Oh, no, what did I do now?" I said.

"None of this 'making out' business with Angel until you are well. You need your strength for when you get well." Mom said winking at me. I got the reason why. I thought she would be mad at the prospect of her teenage daughter having sex, or making love, but she is not. She is fine with it. Even the talk was weird. My god, that was just two days ago. It's so hard to believe that just four days ago, I was still a virgin. Mom didn't even get mad. She came into my room and told me it was time we talked like we normally do. I told her about slaying and being in love with Angel. Then I told her that he and I made love, and NOTHING. I thought she would be furious. She said calmly, that if I loved him, it was okay. She was fine with it. That kinda threw me for a loop, I mean really threw me. I blushed at Mom winking at me.

"What's with you two blushing every few minutes?" Cordelia said.

"Cordy, common sense isn't really your strong suit, is it? I even got it, and I don't like Angel." Xander said.

"Oh, the whole, you two having sex thing, and you losing your soul thing too." Cordelia said without thinking. Her strong suit isn't thinking. I wonder what Xander sees in her.

"Hey, maybe we didn't want our business exposed to everybody in the hospital." I screamed so loud, it made me cough.

"Baby, let me handle this. Cordelia, don't do that. We don't want everybody to know that we made love. Further more, I don't appreciate you yelling to the world that I'm a vampire that used to have a soul before he made love to his girlfriend." Angel bellowed.

"I'm sorry. Don't kill me." Cordelia said.

"What? No, I'm not going to kill you, or anyone else for that matter. Well, unless they try to come between Buffy and myself." Angel said.

"And I would happily let you, my love." I said grabbing his hand and trying to snuggle close to him.

Early the next morning, I was sleeping; dreaming about Angel exploring the folds of soft flesh nestled neatly between my well-toned thighs. Little moans and pants escaped my mouth as I dreamed. Angel stirred from his chair and walked over to the bed. He heard the soft moans and heard my breath hitch. He felt his once soft member harden at the sight and sound of my soft moans. I was unaware of his presence in my hospital room. In my sex-filled dream, err, memory, I should say; everything of that night was coming back. I really mean everything, the music selection, the vast size of Angel's hard cock ramming into me. I could feel the coolness of his lips and tongue as he was placing them to my heated core, which was a bundle of nerves at the time. Meaning the slightest touch would send me over the edge. In an instant, I was riding the waves of the most exquisite orgasm I'd ever felt in my short life. Granted fingers didn't compare with what he was doing to the folds of flesh nestled neatly between my thighs. Without thinking, I began crying out my release.

"Buffy, wake up. You're having a dream." Angel said lightly trying to coax me out of the sex filled dream. I didn't want to wake up right then, but I did.

"Angel, what is going on?" I said apparently out of breath, knowing full, and well why I was out of breath.

"You were dreaming. By the sounds I heard, you were dreaming about the other night. You were also humming my favorite song which I had playing in the background." Angel said. I looked in his eyes. I knew what was coming next. He was gonna sing. I remember the last time I heard him sing. I should have covered my ears in protest, or something.

"SAY YOUR LOVE IS STRONG AND TRUE. LET HER KNOW ALL SHE MEANS TO YOU. SHOW HER SHE'S THAT SPECIAL ONE. THAT SHINES IN YOUR LIFE LIKE THE RISING SUN. GIVE LOVE LESS ROOM TO GROW. TREAT HER TENDER AND YOU WILL KNOW. SECRET TO THE TREASURES OF HEAVEN. IN THE HEART OF A WOMAN." Angel sang. He sounded a lot better. I think he's taken lessons since the last time he serenaded me.

"A BRIDGE WAS BURNED AND A LESSON LEARNED I NEVER WILL FORGET AND FOR HER TIMELESS WISDOM, I'M FOREVER IN HER DEBT LAST NIGHT I HEARD A GOOD FRIEND SAY HE'D FOUND THE ONE I TOLD HIM TO BE SURE THESE PRECIOUS THINGS WEREN'T LEFT UNDONE." I joined in with his song. I knew the song very well. It was also one of my favorites.

"Wow. You sound better than me." Angel said. He was the one with singing talent, not me. I can only play guitar. My parents hated that I took up guitar playing, instead of something more lady like, like the flute or the clarinet. I was a rock-n-roller at heart, except I didn't really like rock-n-roll. Country is more my favorite. The new stuff, not the stuff my parents grew up on. I mean people like Jo Dee Messina, Billy Ray Cyrus, and George Strait. The only music I like to play. You may think me hokey, but I don't care. I like and love what I want. I would have to show Angel that I knew the song very well.

Mom came back and Angel left to get me another Dr. Pepper. "Mom, will you go home and get my guitar? I don't want to lose my ability to play." I asked her.

"Which one? You have three." Mom said laughing.

"The purple acoustic. Angel's favorite color is purple also. I want to surprise him and play him his favorite song." I said.

"What is his favorite song?" Mom asked.

"In The Heart of a Woman, by Billy Ray Cyrus." I said.

"That's one of your favorites too. Any particular reason you want to play that one?" Mom asked.

I blushed.

"Oh, he had it playing when you two…" Mom said.

"I don't want to hear you say the words. Yes, he had it playing in the background when we made love. I think it will shock him to hear me play. He never has. He also was just in here serenading me to that song. He is so sweet." I said.

Angel came back into the room. He handed me a drink and sat in the chair next to the bed. We popped open the drinks and drank happily. In a few moments Mom popped in the door. Angel didn't hear her. I motioned for her to stay in the shadows for a moment.

"I'm going to the bathroom. I'll be right back." He said kissing me softly.

"Thanks, Mom." I said. She handed me the beautifully crafted instrument. I strummed for a moment to get the feel for it. It had been several days since I had practiced. Angel came out of the bathroom tucking in his shirttail. He looked over at me kinda puzzled.

"You play the guitar? I never knew that. That is way too cool." He said laughing.

"Check this out." I said. I jumped right into his favorite song. I sang along to the music I supplied.

"SHE WAS ALL THAT I EVER COULD HAVE WANTED HER TO BE  
SHE ALWAYS KNEW JUST HOW TO GIVE THE BEST OF LOVE TO ME  
I THOUGHT I KNEW A THING OR TWO ABOUT THE WAYS OF LOVE

BUT IT WAS SOON TO BECOME SO CLEAR I DIDN'T KNOW ENOUGH

ONE DAY I FOUND A NOTE BESIDE THE RING SHE'S LEFT BEHIND  
SHE SAID HERE IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR BETTER LOVE NEXT TIME

SAY YOUR LOVE IS STRONG AND TRUE

LET HER KNOWW ALL SHE MEANS TO YOU

SHOUW HER SHE'S THAT SPECIAL ONE

WHO SHINES IN YOUR LIFE LIKE THE RISING SUN

GIVE LOVE LESS ROOM TO GROW

TREAT HER TENDER AND YOU WILL KNOW

THE SECRET TO THE TREASURES OF HEAVEN

IN THE HEART OF A WOMAN

A BRIDGE WAS BURNED AND A LESSON LEARNED I NEVER WILL FORGET  
AND FOR HER TIMELESS WISDOM I'M FOREVER IN HER DEBT  
LAST NIGHT I HEARD A GOOD FRIEND SAY HE'S FINALLY FOUND THE ONE  
I TOLD HIM TO BE SURE THESE PRECIOUS THINGS WEREN'T LEFT UNDONE

SAY YOUR LOVE IS STRONG AND TRUE  
LET HER KNOW ALL SHE MEANS TO YOU

SHOW HER SHE'S THAT SPECIAL ONE  
WHO SHINES IN YOUR LIFE LIKE THE RISING SUN  
GIVE LOVE LESS ROOM TO GROW  
TREAT HER TENDER AND YOU WILL KNOW  
THE SECRET TO THE TREASURES OF HEAVEN  
IN THE HEART OF A WOMAN

IN THE HEART OF A WOMAN

SAY YOUR LOVE IS STRONG AND TRUE

LET HER KNOW ALL SHE MEANS TO YOU  
SHOW HER SHE'S THAT SPECIAL ONE  
WHO SHINES IN YOUR LIFE LIKE THE RISING SUN

GIVE LOVE LESS ROOM TO GROW  
TREAT HER TENDER AND YOU WILL KNOW  
THE SECRET TO THE TREASURES OF HEAVEN

IN THE HEART OF A WOMAN

SAY YOUR LOVE IS STRONG AND TRUE  
LET HER KNOW ALL SHE MEANS TO YOU

SHOW HER SHE'S THAT SPECIAL ONE  
WHO SHINES IN YOUR LIFE LIKE THE RISING SUN  
GIVE LOVE LESS ROOM TO GROW  
TREAT HER TENDER AND YOU WILL KNOW  
THE SECRET TO THE TREASURES OF HEAVEN  
IN THE HEART OF A WOMAN

IN THE HEART OF A WOMAN  
IN THE HEART OF A WOMAN  
IN THE HEART OF A WOMAN" I sang. I looked up at him. He was speechless. I think I even saw a tear in his eye.

"I didn't know you could do that. No one has ever done that for me. That is the sweetest thing anyone has every done for me. Thank you, so much, for just being you. I love you so much, Buffy. I hope you know that." He said.

"This is nothing. You should see her do 'Achy Breaky Heart'. She'll knock your socks off." Mom said, praising me. I blushed. I hated it when mom gushed about my talent.

"Mom, stop. You know I hate it when you brag. Angel, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about my musical ability. I wanted to a surprise, for the next time we, well, you know." I said as I blushed again.

"I don't need to know the specifics of my **_teenage _**daughter's sex life." Mom said holding her hands up in protest.

"Sorry. I forgot. You don't like to hear how Angel had me writhing in ecstasy." I said tying to make mom blush as she did Angel and I earlier.

"Buffy! Don't do that. Don't sit there and tell me how Angel took you to heights of passion that you'd only experienced in your dreams, or in your room thinking about him. I'm not stupid. I know what you do in your bathroom and bedroom when you think I can't hear. Carving stakes, my ass. You are in your room **_thinking _**about Angel making love to you and it turns you on so bad that you have to do something about it. Let's give me some credit for knowing that and not being mad at you for it." Mom said.

"Oh, my God! You didn't know about the whole stake thing three days ago. I can't believe you knew and didn't say a word about it. Angel, honey, you might want to cover your ears for this." Angel left the room. "Oh, yeah, well, you do the same thing when you think I can't hear you in your room and your bathroom. What makes it worse is I know who you think about. Your **_secret_** lover. The scoobies don't know, but I do." I said.

"You know about me and Rupert?" Mom asked as shocked as I was at her accusations earlier. I think she was more shocked at the fact that I didn't berate her in front of Angel. He'd have loved that.

"Mom, we have Caller I.D. Every time he calls, you get all giddy, even when he needs to talk to me about slaying stuff, and after he calls, you lock yourself in your room and take yourself to heights of passion that you never knew existed. Dad never took you that high, and I know why, you didn't love dad the way you love Giles. Just answer me one question?" I said.

"What?" She asked.

"If you two get married, can I call him dad?" I asked laughing.

Mom laughed, "I don't care if you call him King Rupert. At least you like him."

"Mom, I have to. He's my watcher. I love him like a father. When I died the first time, he was so upset. Don't worry, it was only for like two minutes, and plus Xander brought me back. I drowned at the hand of the previous master of all vampires." I said as Angel walked back in the room.

"Talking about when you died?" Angel said.

"You knew?" Mom said.

"Knew, hell I was there." Angel said.

"He was there. He helped me kill the master, the first time." I said assuring Mom that I was as fine as I could be sitting in a hospital bed. I started to cough again. I leaned back and tried to stop. Angel took my guitar and handed me my drink back. I guess I over did it with the impressing him stuff. I took a sip, and it helped a little.

"Better?" He asked.

"Yeah, a little. I guess I should have waited until I was healthy until I did that." I said.

"It really was sweet of you to do that, baby." Angel said taking my hand and holding to where his heart is.

"I love you. I try not to but I can't stop." I said.

"Hey, that's my line. Remember, I said it to you three nights ago." Angel said.

"Oh, yeah. That was B.M.L." I said.

"'B.M.L.' Do I want to know what that means, or do I already know?" Mom said.

"I think you already know, but if you want to know I'll tell you." I said.

"Okay." Mom said.

"B.M.L., is before we had made love. You don't like to hear us talk about it so I just abbreviated it so you wouldn't feel so uncomfortable." I said.

"Thanks, it worked." She said.

"Did you talk to **_Giles_** and the scoobies?" I said.

"'Scoobies'? That is the second time you've said that. What does that mean?" Mom asked.

"You know, the guys. We are nicknamed the scoobies. You know, like Scooby Doo." I said.

"Yes, I spoke to Giles." She said.

"No wonder you took so long to get back." I said kidding her about her secret lover, which to me was not secret anymore.

"Huh." Angel said.

"You don't want to know, but I'll tell you later." I said. I looked over at Mom as she was now blushing. I finally got her.

"You are not going to make fun of me when you hear this, are you, Angel?" Mom said.

"Maybe a little, but not too much. I don't want you to get mad at me. I've heard moms are the worst people to piss off." Angel said.

"I deserve it. I just feel almost like Buffy, the being in love part, not the being sick part." Mom said.

Angel looked puzzled and said, "Mom's in love? With who? Oh, wait a minute, I think I already know. Oh, God. I just thought he was happy I wasn't killing people. Now I realize Mom has been giving him happies. Oh, shit. That is not a pretty picture."

He pretended to heave. Mom laughed as she blushed. Giles came into the room. Angel and I looked at each other and burst into laughter.

"What's so blasted funny here?" Giles said his thick British accent was almost non-understandable.

"Buffy and Angel know, Rupert." Mom said snuggling close to him.

"Know what?" Giles said.

"They **_know_**." Mom said.

"Oh. Buffy, you're not angry that we didn't tell you?" Giles said.

"Mom has a right to her privacy. I didn't want to pry into her personal business. I only just told her I knew. The scoobies don't, however, I don't know how long you can keep it a secret." I said.

"Angel, just what did you mean earlier by 'happies'? You meant sex. Oh, God, that is really a crude way to put it." Mom said.

"I'm sorry. I was just making the same joke Xander made when he found out about Buffy and me." Angel said.

"I think I'm going to have to have a talk with that boy. He is just so crude." Mom said.

"I can see by the look on your face that you're glad I didn't end up with him. You like Angel, which is a good thing." I said.

"Yes, a very good thing. Xander is okay, as a friend, but you and him hooking up, as you kids put it today, I don't think so. Angel is the better match for you." Mom said.

"I'll have to show you the tape to show you just how good of a match he is." I joked.

"Oh, God, you are joking, aren't you?" Mom said.

"Of course, I am." I said looking at Angel in a way that they didn't comprehend. Angel got it. It meant to hide the tape so only he and I could find it.

"So I think it is great that Mom is happy. At least Buffy and I are not the only ones that are head over heels in love with their better half." Angel said crawling in bed with me and snuggling close.

Dr. Wilkinson walked in, "What's all this?"

"She wanted me to lay beside her. It makes her feel better. We weren't doing anything. For God sakes, her Mom is here and one of her teachers." Angel said.

"As long as you're not doing anything, I don't mind you laying in bed with her. Why is there a guitar in the corner?" Dr. Wilkinson asked.

"I brought it from home. Buffy asked me too. She plays. She said she wanted to practice." Mom said.

"That is cool. What kind of music do you play?" Dr. Wilkinson asked.

"New Country. I love the new stuff." I said.

"My kind of girl. What artists do you like?" She asked.

"Jo Dee Messina, Billy Ray Cyrus, Garth Brooks, Reba, George Strait, among others." I said.

"I am liking you more by the minute." Dr. Wilkinson said.

"You should have heard her in here a minute ago. She was playing my favorite song, as a surprise for me." Angel said.

"What song is that?" Dr. Wilkinson asked.

"In the Heart of a Woman by Billy Ray Cyrus is his favorite song." I sheepishly said.

"Why do you sound like that when you say that?" She asked.

"Private, that is private." I said blushing.

"I won't pry. How do you feel about Tim McGraw and Faith Hill?" She said.

"Love 'em. They are great. Actually, their song 'It's Your Love' is our song." I said.

"That is my favorite song. Would you play it for me?" Dr. Wilkinson asked.

"Sure. Angel, would you sing it with me?" I said.

"Anything for you, Mon amour." Angel said.

Angel got out of the bed with me and handed me my guitar.

I jumped into "It's Your Love".

"DANCIN' IN THE DARK  
MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT  
TAKIN' YOUR HEART  
AND HOLDIN' IT TIGHT

EMOTIONAL TOUCH  
TOUCHIN' MY SKIN  
AND ASKIN' YOU TO DO  
WHAT YOU'VE BEEN DOIN' ALL OVER AGAIN

OH, IT'S A BEAUTIFUL THING  
DON'T THINK I CAN KEEP IT ALL IN  
I JUST GOTTA LET YOU KNOW  
WHAT IT IS THAT WON'T LET ME GO

IT'S YOUR LOVE  
IT JUST DOES SOMETHIN' TO ME  
IT SENDS A SHOCK RIGHT THROUGH ME  
I CAN'T GET ENOUGH  
AND IF YOU WONDER  
ABOUT THE SPELL I'M UNDER  
IT'S YOUR LOVE

BETTER THAN I WAS  
MORE THAN I AM  
AND ALL OF THIS HAPPENED  
BY TAKIN' YOUR HAND

AND WHO I AM NOW  
IS WHO I WANTED TO BE  
AND NOW THAT WE'RE TOGETHER  
I'M STRONGER THAN EVER  
I'M HAPPY AND FREE

OH, IT'S A BEAUTIFUL THING  
DON'T THINK I CAN KEEP IT ALL IN, NO  
AND IF YOU ASKED ME WHY I CHANGED

ALL I GOTTA DO IS SAY YOUR SWEET NAME

IT'S YOUR LOVE  
IT JUST DOES SOMETHIN' TO ME  
IT SENDS A SHOCK RIGHT THROUGH ME  
I CAN'T GET ENOUGH  
AND IF YOU WONDER  
ABOUT THE SPELL I'M UNDER  
IT'S YOUR LOVE  
OH, BABY

OH, IT'S A BEAUTIFUL THING  
DON'T THINK I CAN KEEP IT ALL IN  
I JUST GOTTA LET YOU KNOW  
WHAT IT IS THAT WON'T LET ME GO

IT'S YOUR LOVE  
IT JUST DOES SOMETHIN' TO ME  
IT SENDS A SHOCK RIGHT THROUGH ME  
I CAN'T GET ENOUGH  
AND IF YOU WONDER  
ABOUT THE SPELL I'M UNDER  
IT'S YOUR LOVE  
IT'S YOUR LOVE  
IT'S YOUR LOVE." We sang.

"Wow. Y'all are good." Dr. Wilkinson said.

"Thanks." We said as we both blushed.

"Angel's singing is way better than mine. I just play my old six string." I said as I chuckled a little.

"You both sound great. Just don't over do it, you know you still need your rest." she said.

"Don't worry, I won't overdo it. I know my limits." I said to Dr. Wilkinson.

"Okay. I'm going to send a nurse in here to draw some more blood for tests." Dr. Wilkinson said. Angel's whole body went on point, and his mouth watered at the sound of the word "blood."

"Mom, would you please get Angel something to **_eat_**." I said to Mom. The doctor wouldn't know what to bring him, but Mom knows what he likes.

"Okay. Angel, what would you like?" Mom asked him as Dr. Wilkinson left.

"You can surprise me. I really have no favorite type, but I think Buffy's is superior." Angel said.

"Wait, you **_drank_** her? I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that. Ehh, what are you gonna do about it? Ain't nothing I can do" she said.

"Mom, it's okay, he doesn't drain me dry, obviously. Not even close. He's never bit me before. The only time he's ever tasted my blood, was when he was over at the house and I got a package. I cut my hand with a knife and he drank the blood off my hand. That's all." I defended.

"Well, good." Mom said as the nurse walked in.

"Hello, again." Angel said to the little red-haired nurse who showed him where the phone was the night before.

"Hi. I see your girlfriend is much better." She said in her little polite voice.

"Yeah. She's better, but you, I and everyone in this hospital know what type of medicine she needs." Angel said with a big grin on his face.

I blushed and laughed, "Angel, I don't think she wants to know that. I apologize for his crude tongue." I said.

"It's okay. My boyfriend talks the same way." She said as she stuck the needle in my arm. Angel watched hungrily as the blood filled the little container. I think his mouth even watered a little.

"Honey, don't look at me that way. Mom, would you please go and get Angel something to eat. Try the butcher shop. He loves pork." I said to mom. That was code for AB. I told mom the code the night we had the talk. Pork means AB, Beef means O, Fish means A, Poultry meant B. Now here's where it gets more in depth. Ham is for negative. Bacon for positive. Burger is positive. Steak is for negative. Catfish is for negative. Cod for positive. Chicken for negative. Turkey for positive. Sounds strange, but you don't want to come right out and say 'Get AB negative blood.' People would think we were nuts, well we are, but we don't want everyone to know.

"What kind of pork would you like?" mom said.

"I feel like some bacon today." Angel said.

"Alright, I'll be right back." Mom left to go to the blood bank.

"I'll get this to Dr. Wilkinson P.D.Q." she said. She left the room.

"Buffy, your mom's not gonna come back with real bacon, is she?" Angel said laughing.

"No, baby. She knows the code we use around other humans. I told her three days ago, when we had our talk and **_the talk_**." I said.

"So, your mom will…" Angel said.

"She'll bring back AB positive blood. That is what you wanted, isn't it?" I said.

"Yep. That's your blood type, so yeah." He said.

Dr. Wilkinson walked in the room, "Buffy, I got your test results back. Looks like you'll be here for four days to a week. If you rest more, it'll get a lot shorter." She said.

"I want to go home now, but if you think I should stay, I'll stay." I said.

Later that night Angel had gone home and Mom was staying with me, I was lying in bed, looking out the little window in the door. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, when a demon walked by, looked in, and kinda grinned at me, then kept on walking. I kept looking, a little in shock, squinted my eyes in disbelief. I got out of bed and walked out in the hall, to try to find the demon, but by the time I got out there, he was gone. I went back into my room. I climbed onto the bed and tried to collect my thoughts.

_"Was I dreaming, or was that a demon?" _I thought.

"Hey, sweetie, is everything okay?" Mom said from the chair across the room.

"I don't know. I think I saw a demon, but I'm not sure. I might have just been dreaming or delirious from the fever. Anyway, call Giles and the scoobies. We need an emergency meeting **_now!_**" I said.

"Alright, don't get upset. I'll call them right now." Mom said.

Mom picked up the phone and dialed Giles' number, "Rupert, honey, It's me. Buffy says that she needs an emergency meeting of the Scooby Gang. Can you call them all? I'll try to calm Buffy down." Mom said.

"What's going on, Joyce?" Giles said.

"Buffy'll explain when y'all get here." She said.

"Okay, I love you!" Giles said.

"I love you, too! Get here soon." She said. She hung up the phone.

"Eww, I coulda went the rest of my life and never heard that and been happy." I said making small gagging noises. I was also laughing. Mom caught on to that. She knew I was just giving her a hard time about Giles. Truth of the matter is that I'm glad she's happy. Damn, looks like everyone's happy, except Xander. He's just always gonna be in love with me and there's nothing I can do about it. As I said earlier, I love Angel. I always have. I always will. Alas, I'm repeating myself. I do love making fun of Mom and Giles. They're acting like kids with their pants on fire.

"Mom, hand me the phone. I wanna call Angel. I need to hear his voice. You know how it is." I said.

"Okay." She said.

I dialed Angel's number.

"I don't have time for you!" he answered.

"You don't have a lot of time left." I joked.

"Buffy, I thought it was Spike. He's been to my apartment. I guess he's looking for us." He said.

"Well, I need you, **_now_**. Don't ask questions, just get here." I said.

"On my way. I love you!" he said.

"I love you too! Bye, honey." I said as I hung up the phone.

"Did that make you feel better?" she said.

"Yes, ma'am, it did. Just having the two of you around, makes me feel a lot better." I said.

"I'm glad to hear you say that. You know, before you told me everything, I thought that you were avoiding talking to me, because of some big secret. I know now, that I was wrong about one thing. You weren't avoiding me, were you?" she said.

"No, I was just really busy. I had school, slaying, and of course Angel. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner. I didn't want to endanger your life. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you or Angel. You, both, mean the world to me. The Scooby Gang means the world to me too." I said.

Angel came in first. His apartment is nearby. On the other side of his apartment is The Bronze. Like Cordelia said on the first day I came to Sunnydale High, "We don't have a whole lotta town here". Granted Cordelia is not my favorite person in the world, but we have to keep her happy, or she'll tell my secret. Then it will be all our necks.

"Honey, what's wrong? You sounded so cryptic on the phone." Angel said.

"Hey, that's my line. I thought I saw something. A demon, but I'm not sure. I could have been dreaming or delirious from this fever." I said.

"I know you, honey. You won't say something, if you weren't sure. What did this demon look like?" he said.

"Ugly. Really Ugly. It was wearing a top hat and coat. He looked like he was going to a fancy dress ball." I said.

"'Fancy dress ball'? You sound like Giles." Angel said laughing.

"Who sounds like me?" Giles said walking in the door with the rest of the Scoobies.

"Buffy was telling me about the demon she saw. Said he was wearing a top hat and coat. Said he looked like he was going to a fancy dress ball. I said she sounded like you." He said.

"Finish telling about the demon." Giles said.

"His face looked like Pumba." I said.

"Pumba?" Giles said.

"The warthog from the Lion King. Don't you watch Disney movies?" I said.

"No, sadly I missed that one. Well, we'll all go to the library and research this. Hopefully, in the morning we'll have something. You rest now. Your mum, the gang, and I will find out what's what on this demon. Angel, you are more than welcome to help us too." Giles said.

"No, thanks, I'll stay with Buffy so she won't be frightened." Angel said.

"Okay, but no 'fooling around', as you kids put it today. I'll have none of that until you are well, Missy." Mom said winking at me.

"Oh, alright, Mom, we won't fool around until I am well." I said.

"I guess, Buffy'll have to be strong for the both of us. I see her lying here all helpless and vulnerable, and you already know the only thought in my mind." Angel said growling at me in a seductive way.

I blushed, "Angel, you know to leave that kind of talk in your bedroom, or mine." I said to Angel.

"Sorry, you know how I am. I just wish you weren't sick, then we could have some fun." Angel said trying to make me blush some more.

"Angel, you are incorrigible. I'll have to encourage that when I get well." I said trying to make him blush.

"We'll see what we come up with and get back to you tomorrow. Buffy, you know my rule, no 'fooling around' until you are well." Mom said.

"Okay, Mom. I am not up to it anyway. Angel knows that if I say I am not up to it, something is wrong. I'll always up for a good romp in the hay." I said.

"Buffy, you know how I dislike this kind of talk. You don't hear me going around running my mouth about my sex life, that is if I had one." Mom said shooting me a look saying, "Do you think I covered our tracks, you know so the others won't notice?". I just nodded my head in acknowledgment. Then relief set in as she realized I was nodding.

"You rest, now. You'll need your strength for when you need to fight this demon." Giles said acting like my second parental unit.

"Yes, _dad_, I'll rest now. Angel, will you lie next to me, you know just until I fall asleep." I said. Giles and the others were laughing at me calling Giles dad. It was pretty funny.

"Sure, I'll lie with you, mi amour. Nothing would make me happier, than to lie next to you until you fall asleep. I hope you feel a little better after a good night's rest." Angel said lifting the covers and climbing in next to me. He snuggled in very close to me as the others left my hospital room. He put his big, strong arms around me, and I turned over so I was face to face with the most handsome vampire I had ever laid my eyes on in my short life. His hair and eyes were deep chocolate. They were so chocolate that you wanted to taste them. His skin was the palest shade of ivory I had ever seen. Without thinking, I leaned up and kissed him. I mean, come on, it's like second nature to kiss him. After the kiss, I fell asleep. Instead of dreaming of Angel, and the best night of my life, I was dreaming of my cousin Celia, and the night she died. I was screaming in my sleep. Angel pulled me closer to his rock, hard body, to try to calm me down.

"Buffy, mi amour, wake up, you're having a nightmare." Angel said in a low voice trying to wake me up.

"Angel, Yes, I **_was_**. It was about my cousin and the night she died. If there's one thing I don't want to relive it's that." I said pulling him as close to me as I could.

"Buffy, It's okay, I'm here." Angel said rubbing up and down my back.

"Angel, I don't know what happened to her. She just died. They said she had the flu, but I don't know." I said.

"You'll figure it out one day. I know you will. You're smart, when it comes to demons and supernatural things. I love that about you, Buffy." Angel said.

"Are you saying, that I'm not smart in other areas of intellect?" I said.

"Of course you are. You are the perfect girl, err woman for me. You are a woman now Buffy, no matter what people say. You may only, seventeen but in my eyes, you are a woman." Angel said as he continued to stroke my back.

Mom came into my hospital room.

"What the hell is going on here?" Mom said.

"She had a nightmare. I was comforting her." Angel said.

"Oh, is that all? Okay, I believe you." Mom said.

Angel got out of the bed.

"Have you found out anything?" I asked Mom.

"No, but the scoobies are still working on it." Mom said.

"Good, I'll be able to rest easier knowing they are trying to find out what this thing is." I said with the "I'm ready to kick the shit out of something" tone.

"Did you and Giles have a good night last night?" I said laughing.

"Buffy, you are incorrigible. We researched all night, that's all." She said in her defensive tone. She only used that tone when she had something to hide. She and Giles weren't just researching. I knew all I needed to know from the tone of her voice. She and Giles were together last night. I'm just wondering how, since they were in the library all night. The scoobies would have heard them.

"How did you get around the scoobies?" I asked.

"It wasn't hard. Damn it, Buffy. Now you've got me in the gutter." She said.

"It's fun there, isn't it?" I said.

"Yeah, I have to admit, I like it here. It does make a relationship better." She said.

"Okay, new rule," Angel said, "Buffy and I won't talk about our sex life, if you won't talk about you and Giles making love, okay." He finished.

"Okay, deal. What will we talk about then? That is, basically, all we know, except demons and clothes." Mom said.

"Did you see what Cordelia had on yesterday? I mean, she talks about Willow's fashion sense. About how she's seen the 'Softer side of Sears', but it looked to me that she had been shopping at a thrift store. Not that there's anything wrong with that, you just need to really incorporate it into your wardrobe, and she didn't." I laughing so hard it made me cough a little.

"Are you okay, baby?" Angel said.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's not as bad as it was yesterday, thank God." I said.

"Okay, if you say so, not about God, about feeling better. Nothing is possible without Him." Mom said.

"You really should say something to her about it." Angel said having a 'village idiot' relapse.

"Remember , sweetie, we try to keep her happy, so she won't tell anyone I'm in trouble" I said as Dr. Wilkinson came in the room.

"What are you talking about, Buffy? What do you mean 'in trouble'?" she asked.

"In school. I'm failing history. Angel and Willow are tutoring me, but it's not working. I'm just dumb when it comes to school work." I said.

"I'm sure it's not as bad as all of that. You've just got to apply yourself a little better." Dr. Wilkinson said.

"It **_is_** as bad as all of that. I just can't get the gist of it. Too many dates, too many important events, stop the world I wanna get off." I said.

"I'm sure you'll get it. It's not too hard. You just have to make studying fun. It'll come to you, don't worry." Dr. Wilkinson said.

"I sure hope so. Even though, my future is a non-issue. I won't be going to college after I graduate. I have other obligations that need my attention." I said.

"You mean Angel, your boyfriend. I'm sure he'll want you to go to college, even if you two get married." She said.

"Yeah, Angel will, but I won't. I just want to be married to him and have his kids, that is to say that if he wants to have kids." I said.

"With you? I don't know if I want to have kids. I'm just kidding, of course I want kids with you. I'm just not sure if I can do that. I had mumps when I was younger, and they went down on me. I was told I was sterile." Angel said covering up his true identity for the doc.

"Oh, I didn't know. I swear, you learn something-new everyday. Maybe, they made a mistake, or they'll come up with something. I'm sure they will." I said as the doctor left.

"Angel," Mom said, "Tell me the truth, you didn't have mumps, did you?"

"Actually, I did, but the rest of it wasn't true. I want kids with Buffy, but I'm not sure if I can get her pregnant. I was careful the only time we were together, so I'm not sure I can." He said.

"I never asked her that question, but it is good to know. At least we won't know for at least a year." Mom said.

"We hope." I said.

"Buffy!" Mom said.

"Just kidding. Accidents happen, whether we want them to or not, but we will be careful. I promise." I said.

"Okay, I'm gonna get something to eat, you guys want something too?" Mom said.

"Nah, I'm good. Angel's here, so there's nothing I need." I said shooting a look to Angel.

"Alright, be back in five." She said walking out the door.

"You didn't tell me how 'the talk' went with her." He said.

"I didn't? I thought I had." I said.

"No, you didn't." he said.

"It was weird." I said, "I told her everything. I told her about slaying and school. I told her about making love to you, and NOTHING!"

"She didn't say a word about her oldest daughter losing her virginity?" he said.

"No, she only said, that if I loved you, it was okay. She, now, doesn't want to hear any specifics of the night in question, but she's cool with it." I said. Mom came back with a coke and a bag of Lays Salt and Vinegar Potato Chips. I take after her. That is also my favorite. She sat in the chair across the room.

"Who's cool about what?" she said putting a chip in her mouth.

"You. I was telling him about 'the talk'. It's so hard to believe that just five days ago, I was still a virgin. Sorry, you don't like to hear about you little girl growing up. I told him, the talk was weird. That you weren't even mad at me for keeping secrets from you, not telling you that Angel and I were dating." I said.

"I was mad, but I realized if I yelled at you, I would never get to talk to you about anything again. I'm fine with you and Angel making love, just be honest with me about it. One more thing, don't sneak around and do it. If I catch you sneaking around, I'll ground you for so long some of **_my old clothes_** will come back in style. I just have to admit that you are growing up, Buffy. You're not the little girl in the hospital with her cousin, grieving over losing her, anymore. I need to shut up before I embarrass you." She said.

"Well, I won't be grounded long. They're already back, Mom. Vintage is in." I said.

"Oh, well, you'll be grounded for three weeks then. Nice, round figure, I think." She said.

"I don't plan on sneaking back in. If I'm gonna be late, I just won't come home at all." I said laughing.

"You'd better call first." Mom said.

"If I can get to a phone, I will. You should think about getting me a cell phone, for such occasions." I said.

"Sure, I'll look into it. By the way, you're seventeen now, maybe we can talk about teaching you to drive, now. I think you are mature enough to handle it. We will talk more about it when you're feeling up to it. One more thing, if you are not comfortable with me teaching you, Angel can, or I can teach you how to drive in the daytime, and Angel can at night, even though he has an advantage at night that you and I don't." Mom said.

"Oh, Vampires of the world beware. A slayer that can drive. She'll run them over with the car then stake them." Angel said laughing.

Mom and I joined in the laughter. "Me driving, are you serious?" I said.

"Yes. I've noticed that, what you've experienced in the past few days, has made you more together. You've really grown up in the past few days." She said realizing that her oldest girl wasn't a baby anymore.

"Good, at least when I want to see you, I can just call and tell you to come to my apartment, and not have to worry about you walking after dark alone." Angel said hugging me.

The phone rang. "Hello?" I answered.

"Hello, It's Giles. We're still tracking this demon. Have you heard anything else?" he said.

"No, but I'm sure he'll show up again tonight. Demons rarely go a day without eating." I said.

"We'll keep looking and call you when we find something." Giles said.

"Okay, here's Mom." I said handing the phone to Mom.

"So, what's the verdict? Have they found this thing yet?" Angel said.

"No, they're still working on it." I said.

"Good, and then we'll take care of it, like the team we are. There's nothing we can't face, if we're together." Angel said.

"Angel, you sound like some corny song, but I believe you. Mom, is it okay if he kisses me?" I said.

She was off the phone by this time, "I don't mind one kiss, but no making out." Mom said.

Angel leaned in a sensually and brushed his cool lips against mine. My right hand reached up and tangled in his dark hair. Without thinking, my tongue parted his cool lips and seeked solace in his mouth. He pulled me closer and moaned into my mouth. I, finally broke the kiss. I leaned back onto my hospital bed, trying to catch my breath.

"Wow! That made me feel a whole lot better. Come here." I said to Angel.

He leaned over to me, and I whispered, "You **_really_** do know the type of medicine I need, honey."

He shuddered at my soft whispers. "Of course, I do." Angel whispered back. He leaned over and brushed his cool lips against my warm cheek. I shuddered at that. I remembered everywhere his lips and fingers touched on the night in question. I shook my head forcefully trying to get the visions out of my head.

"Buffy, is something wrong? Why are you shaking your head like that?" Mom said.

I shot a look to Angel, "No, I'm fine. Nothing's wrong. I really am fine." I said.

Angel mouthed the words, "I know what is wrong with you!"

I nodded. He knew that I knew. I wanted him so bad I could taste it. Shaking my head was all I could do to keep myself from tackling him and making passionate love to him. I mean, he is, by far, the best looking guy I have ever laid eyes on.

That night, instead of getting some doctor ordered rest, I decided on a little walk. Nowhere in particular, just some exercise. My walk led me to the children's ward. I met a little boy named Ryan. He was in the hospital for the same reason I was, the flu. He said Death came for some of the weaker kids, and that he would be back to get him and the rest before it was over. I assured him that nothing would happen to him while I was around.

Ryan went back to his room, and I kept walking. Searching for "Death" as Ryan put it. When I walked back to the door of the children's ward, I looked in and saw a little girl swatting at something on top of her, but I couldn't see a thing there. The little girl died a few seconds there after. I mentally kicked myself for not being able to see what killed her. I hung my head and walked back to my room. When I got back, no one was in my room, which really startled me. Then I saw Angel come out of the bathroom, smoothing the wrinkles from his pants.

"Baby, you should be in bed." He said with a lot of concern in his voice.

"I know the reason you want me in bed. That's not going to happen tonight." I growled trying to turn him on a little.

"Okay, none of that, Missy." I heard a voice coming from the doorway. It was Mom. She leaned against the door jamb with her arms crossed.

"Mom, it wasn't as it sounded. I was trying to get him all revved up, but I said not tonight. I meant the tone as a joke." I said to Mom.

"We like to banter like that back and forth. Even before, we would. People who saw us in public thought that we were married." He said, "In a way we are."

"What?" I said.

"Remember the ring I gave you on your birthday?" he said.

"Yes, and did I tell you I love it?" I said.

"Well, back in my home country, it's called a claddagh ring. It is an Irish wedding band. People exchange it as a sign of devotion to one another. If we go back to my home country, we would be legally married." He said.

Mom looked shocked at the turn of events. "You are now my son-in-law. That is the best news I've heard all week. Angel, welcome to the family. Now that you are a part of the family, I expect you to move in with us. I won't take no for an answer." Mom said as she walked over to Angel and hugged us both.

"Mom, are you serious? You want Angel to move in with us? You want him to move in my room, which is right next to yours. You'll hear everything that goes on in **_our_** room, sure you can handle that?" I said.

"Oh, you may be right on that one. I'm just kidding. I trust you won't be too loud. I'm fine with it. Angel just stood here and told us, you two were married. I can't keep a husband away from his wife. What kind of monster would I be if I did? We can start to plan a real wedding when you're well, for after you graduate of course." Mom said.

"Oh, wow, yes, ma'am. I have a lot of ideas." I said.

"I have plenty of money. I'll pay for the whole shindig." Angel said.

"No, we can't ask you do that. It's the bride's family that pays for the wedding." Mom said.

"Really, I don't mind. Anything to know I get to marry the girl, err, woman of my dreams." Angel said holding my hand.

"You'd better get some sleep, Mi amor. You need your strength for this demon we'll, no doubt have to fight." Angel said.

"Okay, lover. I'll get some sleep, if you'll lie down with me." I said with a little lilt in my voice.

"Buffy Anne Summers, would you stop with the sex talk. I don't want to hear it." Mom said.

"Okay, Mom. I only meant it as a joke, the tone, I mean." I said.

Angel picked up the covers and laid down beside me and cradled me in his big, strong arms. I felt safe. I had my Mom and Angel with me. That always made me feel safe, even when I wasn't safe.

"Ooh, hello, lover." I whispered to his chest. I snuggled into his chest and pretended to be asleep.

Mom looked at Angel and whispered, "I'm going to check in with Giles at the library. I'll see you two in the morning. Tell her I love her."

"Okay, Mom. Good night." Angel whispered. The vibrations in his chest when he whispered turned me on.

Mom left the room and closed the door.

"Okay, you can open your eyes. She's gone." Angel said. The vibrations in his chest were making me hotter.

"Give me your hand." I said in a low husky voice.

"Okay." He said.

I rolled over on my back and took his hand. He sniffed and caught the smell of my arousal. I slid his hand under my hospital gown. Needless to say, he was shocked to find out I wasn't wearing any panties. He wanted to take solace in my sheathed heat, but knew Mom would dust him before he could get his pants undone.

"Buffy, baby, we can't. Mom would dust me before I could get my pants undone." He said laughing at the imagery of Mom holding a stake.

"What's so damn funny, Angel?" I said wanting him to take solace in my sheathed heat.

"I was picturing Mom holding a stake, ready to dust me." He said.

"That is a pretty funny picture. Mom holding a stake, I don't think she ever has. The lover of a watcher and the mother of a slayer, and I don't think she has." I said.

"Angel, I wish you could do something about me being this horny. I've been this way since we made love, and touching myself doesn't do it for me anymore. I did the night after we made love, the day before I got sick. It just doesn't do it for me like you do. I don't know why, it used to. I guess for me to climax fully now, I need you to do it." I said.

"Well, as soon as you get well, I will take care of that for you. That is a promise. I love to hear you scream out my name as you climax. I love to just hear you whisper my name too. The soul loved it and so do I. We both love you, Buffy. You really are the perfect woman for us." Angel said reassuring me of the fact that he loved me.

He didn't need to reassure me. All I had to do was look into his deep chocolate eyes, and I knew all I needed to know.

"I never thought of you as two people. You act the same way around me, with the exception of the blood lust, you seem to have these days." I said laughing.

"I know. I hate looking at people like that, as for you, that is a given. Alas, I'm repeating myself." He said.

"Angel, you really are incorrigible, but I really do love you for it." I said.

He nuzzled into my neck and whispered, "You can't see the bruise anymore." He said. It kinda puzzled me a little.

"What? What bruise?" I said.

"Remember, the judge. The severed arm in a box that tried to choke you just a few days ago?" He said. Stupid me, I had forgotten that I had almost died just a few days ago, and lost the love of my life.

"Oh, I was trying to forget that night." I said worrying him a little.

"WHAT!" He exclaimed.

"I meant the arm choking me, not the other things. In some ways, that was the best night of my life, and in others it was the worst." I said.

"Explain, lover!" He said, and I was that. I was his lover now. It's still hard to think of myself as a sexual being, but I am. I, actually, lost my virginity, my innocence, my virtue. At least it wasn't in the back seat of a car at some drive-in movie theater. How sixties! Mom told me that's when she and Father had sex for the first time. She was younger than me when she had sex for the first time, but not much younger. She was sixteen when she and Father had sex for the first time. Well, can you blame her, she was young and in love. I know the feeling well. Angel is the first man, or demon I've ever loved, emotionally and physically. We really are soul mates. I just wish Xander could see how happy he makes me. Stupid, immature twerp. I loathe him sometimes.

"It was the best night of my life because, I got to make love to you, but the worst in the way that I almost lost you." I said as I saw the half smirk on his face. This was his trademark. Damn him for looking so good. That half smirk is what got me into this whole situation. His little half smirk gets me wetter than any other thing on earth.

"I know. I feel the exact same way." He said. That half smirk never waning.

"Don't look at me with that half smirk." I said.

"Why?" he said.

"Give me your hand, I'll show you." I said.

I took his hand and ran it over my aching heat.

"You get that wet with me giving you a little half smirk." He said in astonishment.

"Yes I do. Everything you do gets me going so bad, that I have to do something about it. God, Angel, I'm so turned on. I wish you could do something about it." I said as my hand pushed his away. I ran my hand all over my pulsing heat, trying to relieve the pressure. Angel could smell my arousal, and saw my hand moving rapidly under the covers.

"Baby, you do realize we are in the hospital. You shouldn't do that." He said.

"I'm so hot. It's the only thing I can think about. If you won't finger me, then I will!" I said. My voice shivering because, of the pure, unadulterated need for a climax.

"Okay, baby. I'll do it, but you have to be quiet. Let's go in the bathroom. I know it'll be more private than out here." He said taking my hand and leading me into the bathroom.

"Okay, I really should shower anyway. I haven't in a day. You can shower with me and do it then, okay?" I said.

"Sounds like a plan. I like the way you think, Buff!" He said as we got in the bathroom. He hugged me and untied my gown. It pooled around my ankles, leaving me bare to his hungry eyes. He slowly drank in my presence.

"Your turn." I said as I undid his belt. My shaking hands settled on his shirt. I slowly undid the buttons. I reached up and slid the silky material off his broad, sexy shoulders. My hands went back to his pants. I fumbled with the button for a moment, until he got so impatient that he shed the restricting material. I stood there looking at how gorgeous he was in his boxers. Boxers. I didn't know he wore boxers, especially silk ones. The night we made love, I never saw his underwear.

"Boxers, huh? I didn't know. I never saw your underwear that night. I think we both had other things on our mind." I said laughing.

I ran my hands over the silky material. With one quick motion, they were gone, and he stood there before me as handsome as ever.

He reached in and turned on the shower. We got in the shower. I put my hands on the wall to keep my balance. His hands massaged my achy breasts, turning me on even more. I leaned back into his chest, begging him to kiss my neck. He complied. He kissed and licked and sucked at the strong artery in my neck. He turned me around and kissed me hungrily. His tongue came out of his mouth and sought solace in mine. My lips parted and allowed him to enter. His tongue ran over each one of my teeth. Then he began to massage my tongue with his. I bit down slightly on his tongue, making him growl a little. I moaned deep in his mouth. He broke the kiss and looked hungrily into my green eyes. My eyes were clouded with lust. He growled deep in his chest. He moved to my achy breasts. He kissed, sucked, and licked the precious pink tips gently. I moaned quietly at his gentle touch. He moved to my well toned stomach. He spent a minute placing kisses in random places on the feverish skin. He moved again to my quivering heat.

"I thought you were just going to finger me, not eat me. If you want to do this, as opposed to just fingering me, then go ahead. I have no objections." I said.

"'As opposed to? No objections? You've got to stop spending so much time around Giles. He is really rubbing off on you." He said.

"I'll show you the tape so you can see just how much he really is rubbing off on me." I said joking.

"You're not going to make me jealous of Giles. You're not sleeping with anyone else. **_I_** won't allow it. You are my mate! I won't share." Angel said through gritted teeth.

"You're right. I'm not sleeping with anyone else. I am your mate. You are my mate. If I hear of you sleeping with anyone else, I'll stake you myself. Is that in anyway unclear?" I said.

"No, I get the message. I like it when you get all bossy." Angel said.

I growled and grabbed his head painfully. He growled at that. I pushed his face deep into my sensual heat. He purred and sucked the sensitive nub. Thankfully, my back was against the shower, or I'd have slipped. My hands went to my breasts. I massaged and worked the pale, pink tips until they were rock hard. My hands left my breasts and tangled into his thick brown hair, pushing his face deeper into my aching core. Then my hands fell to the side in the face of my world-shattering climax. I came hard. I bit my lower lip to stifle my moans. He stopped and nuzzled at my neck.

"Thank you, Angel. I needed that." I said hugging close to him.

"You don't need to thank me. It was my pleasure. I can never get enough of your essence." He said. He washed my back for me. I returned the favor. We got out of the shower. I put on my clothes, including my panties. I don't want to kill Angel by tempting him with no panties on again. He put his clothes back on. He helped me dry my hair a little. His hair was nearly dry by the time we got out anyway. He was carrying me to the bed as the doctor came in.

"What are you doing out of bed, Buffy?" Dr. Wilkinson said.

"I needed to take a shower. I always feel better after a good, hot shower." I said.

"Oh, did he take one with you?" she asked.

"No, he stayed in there in case I were to slip. He has quick reflexes. He could catch me before I hit the ground." I said.

"You look better. How do you feel?" Dr. Wilkinson said.

"I feel a lot better. Do you need to run some more tests?" I said.

"Yes. You get in the bed. I'll draw some blood for the tests then we'll be able to judge when you can go home." She said.

"Yes, ma'am. I don't want to have a relapse. I really do feel a lot better." I said as Angel put me in the bed.

Angel sat in the chair next to my bed. I shot him a sated look. He gave me that trademark half smirk. I rolled my eyes as I felt myself get wet again.

"Good, I'm so relieved you feel better. Maybe, you'll be able to come home with me and Mom by tomorrow." He said.

Dr. Wilkinson stuck the needle in my arm and drew blood. She said, "I'll rush this to the lab right now. You get some rest."

"Okay, I'll do it." I said.

The phone rang. Angel answered it.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Angel, may I please talk to Buffy?" Cordelia said.

"Sure. Buffy, it's Cordelia." He said.

"Hello?" I answered.

"It's called Der Kindestod." Cordelia said.

"You found the demon? That's a change." I said.

"Make fun all you want, but remember I was the one that found it." She said.

"May I talk to Giles? He may have more on it." I said.

"Okay, he just came in the office with a book anyway." She said handing him the phone.

"Buffy, how are you feeling? Better, I take it?" Giles said.

"Yes, Dad, I'm at about eighty-five percent. Well enough to fight a demon." I said.

"The demon's name is Der Kindestod. Loosely translated it means 'child death'. It sits atop its victims and drains the life out of them. Later, it looks like they died just from being sick." He said. I dropped the phone. I was remembering the night Celia died. She looked as if she was swatting something on top of her. Then, it hit me, this **_thing_** killed her. I just stared.

"Buffy, Buffy, are you still there?" Giles called from the phone.

"Thanks for the info, Giles. I'll call you with any more updates, on Buffy's health or otherwise." Angel said. Mom walked in the door as Angel was hanging up the phone.

"This thing killed Celia." I said in astonishment.

Mom looked confused. "What did, honey?"

"This demon. It killed her." I said.

"Are you sure?" Mom said.

"One-hundred percent sure. This thing picked on the wrong girl. It dies tonight." I said.

Dr. Wilkinson came in, "Good news, Buffy. You can go home tomorrow, provided you don't have a fever in the morning. You still have a little one, but if it's gone in the morning, you are free to go." She said.

"Good." I said with Mom and Angel.

She left. I said, "We need to find this thing now. The sooner we kill it, the sooner I can get out of this place." I said.

"Good. I'll ask the doctor if you can walk around." Mom said.

"Thanks, Mom." I said.

"Buffy, you could get to go home in the morning. I can't wait to get you home." He said.

Mom came in, "She said you are more than welcome to walk through the hospital. Just don't overdo it." She said.

"Good. Let's see if we can't track this demon, Angel. Mom, why don't you go to the library, and tell Giles what's going down?" I said.

"Okay. I'll tell him. Don't overdo it. I'm looking forward to getting you home." Mom said.

I got out of bed and slid on my jeans and bra and shirt. Angel and I walked out of my hospital room. We walked down to the children's ward. They were all gone. Then, the demon appeared.

"You ready for a battle, Angel?" I said.

"Yes, I am." He said.

I grabbed onto him to keep my balance, because I suddenly felt dizzy.

"Baby, are you okay?" Angel said.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just got light-headed. No biggie." I said. I opened the door to the children's ward and went inside.

We opened the door marked "Basement Access." and went downstairs. The kids were huddled behind something hiding from the demon, except Ryan. The demon had him and was about to kill him.

"Hey, ugly. Eat someone your own size. I **_really _**need to get out of the gutter." I said with Angel laughing behind me at the joke.

The battle was fierce. In the end, I twisted his neck to kill him. Angel had taken the kids back to the children's ward. I went back to my room and put my gown back on and got in bed. Angel came in shortly there after and joined me on the bed.

"Nice work, baby. You finally found the thing that killed your cousin. I'm so proud of you." He said hugging close to me.

Mom, Giles, and The Scoobies came in later.

"I need a minute alone with Xander. Would you excuse us?" I said.

"No, I'm not leaving you alone with him." Angel said with his jealous tone.

"Angel, trust me." I said shooting him a look saying, "If he doesn't listen or accept us, you can kill him. I won't do anything to stop you.." He gladly left with the rest with that look.

"Xander, I know you are in love with me. Listen, I'm only going to say this once. Either accept Angel and get along, or he will kill you. He will drain you dry, and I won't even try to stop him. I'll never love you like I love him. I only think of you as a friend. Get it?" I said.

"Got it! It's gonna take me some time, but I'll try." He said.

"Good. That is all I ask." I said.

"Is everything alright, baby?" Angel said.

"He's gonna try." I said.

"Good." Angel said lightly kissing me. Giles took his glasses off and cleaned them, then replaced them on his face.

"Give us some good news, Buffy, please." Giles said.

"The demon is gone. I could be coming home tomorrow." I said

"Stop this crazy whirligig of fun. I want off. Too much god news." Xander joked.

We all laughed.

"How much homework do I have, Willow?" I said.

"Tons. The teachers wish you a speedy recovery though. I brought your assignments though. Don't worry, I did all your assignments. All you have to do is sign your name." She said.

"That's what I call a get well present." I said with everybody laughing in the back ground.

I looked at Angel's watch. It read a quarter to ten. I was sleepy. I snuggled close to Angel sleepily.

"I'm pretty tired you guys. Come by in the morning to see if I'm ready to come home." I said.

"Okay. We all love you, Buffy." They said leaving.

"You look great tonight. There's just something about you tonight. You look really good when you glow." Angel said.

"I have you to thank for that glow. My GOD. That was intense. You. Tongue. Fast. Slow. I can barely think. I'll sleep so good tonight being in your arms. The things you know to do, don't ever tell me where you learned to do that." I said.

"You already know that one. I'm a man. We do watch porn a lot, you do know that right?" he said.

"Oh, well, is that all? I thought it was something you learned back in the 'Dark Ages'. I have a little confession to make." I said.

"Oh, what's that, lover?" he asked.

"I watch too." I said.

"You mean to tell me you watch porn?" he asked with his half smirk and innocent look.

"Yes. I have quite a collection on my computer. You think I'm this sheltered little girl, who doesn't know what to do in bed? Puhlease. I know the score, Angel. Guys want a girl that knows things about that." I said.

"Well, this is behavior I'll have to encourage." He said growling. He snuggled close to me as I closed my eyes.

I awoke the next morning with a renewed sense of strength. I noticed an envelope next to the bed. Mom walked in.

"Who's that from dear?" she asked.

"Ryan, a little boy that is in the children's ward. Probably thanking me for saving his life." I said. Angel began to stir next to me. I looked down at him.

"Good morning, lover." I said greeting him with a kiss.

"Open it, Buffy." She said.

"Okay." I said.

"Oh, how sweet. He drew you a picture. Oh. That must be the way you killed the demon." She said.

"Yes, ma'am. It was. It was just about to kill Ryan when I got there." I told her.

"Well, I'm glad he's okay." She said.

The scoobies came in.

"Good morning, Buffy." Giles said with his thick British accent.

"Hello, all." I said.

The doctor came in shortly there after.

"Buffy, I'm afraid I have some bad news." She said.

"Oh, crap." I said.

"No, the bad news is for the hospital, it won't to get to hear you play guitar anymore, you can go home today." She said.

"Thank you, Dr. Wilkinson." Angel said.

"Mrs. Summers, if you would care to sign her release papers, then she is free to go." She said.

"Thank you, Doctor, for everything." I said.

"No, thank you. Ryan said that you helped him and the other kids. He didn't say what it was, but that something was after them. He said you stopped it, whatever it was." She said.

"It was nothing. I'm used to it. It's my job to help people. Like you, without the medicine." I said.

"What are you an undercover cop or something? It would explain how you got well so quick." She said.

"Giles, Do you think she can handle the truth?" I asked.

"It's your decision, Buffy." He said.

"What do you know about this place, Dr. Wilkinson?" I asked.

"I've seen some pretty strange things in my tenure here. People coming in with terrible blood loss, and the place where the blood came out was two neat little holes in their necks." She said.

"Dr. Wilkinson, do you believe in vampires and other supernatural creatures?" I asked.

"I keep an open mind about anything. I did a lot of research on them as a teenager, so I know a little about them, why?" she said.

"They're real. I mean it. Those people you treated were their victims. Did you read anything about 'vampire slayers'." I said.

"Yeah, it was usually a girl. She stays in cemeteries a lot. She works for the forces of good and kills vampires and other supernatural things." She said.

"Well, wouldn't it stand to reason if vampires existed so does the slayer?" I said.

"Yes, it would." She said.

"The slayer does exist, and you happen to be in her presence. I am the slayer. This band of misfits is my crew. They help me. Giles is my watcher. Angel is my boyfriend, who can take care of himself." I said motioning to Angel.

I leaned over and whispered, "Do you mind if she knows you are a vampire?"

"I don't mind." He said.

"Angel can take care of himself because, he's a vampire." I said.

"Angel's a vampire, you're the slayer, and you two are in love. That's so romantic. Mortal enemies who love each other, sounds like some cheesy romance novel." She said.

"I know. I read those all the time. It does. I guess I'm just used to it." Mom said.

"Well, little lady, looks like you're free to go. Just don't get too crazy for at least two days." Dr. Wilkinson said.

"Yes, ma'am. I'll take it easy. Angel will have to help me with that." I said.

"Buffy!" Mom exclaimed.

"Mom, it was a joke. You've got to learn the difference between a joke and not a joke. I like to joke with my husband." I said. All but Mom and Angel looked puzzled. Angel just blushed.

"Will you all excuse me? I'd like to get dressed." I said.

Everyone left but Mom and Angel.

"I'm so glad to be going home." I said,

"Me too. I'm just glad you got that demon before he could kill anymore kids. Buffy, you are a hero, whether you see it or not." Mom said making me blush.

"Mom, don't do that. You don't like hearing about my sex life. Why do you insist on making me blush when you brag?" I said.

"I like to brag on you. You're the perfect daughter. Except the grades thing. Maybe Angel can really tutor you, I mean he did live through it, didn't he?" Mom said.

"I think I'm the one that can answer that one. Yes, I did. We didn't have television to find out what was going down. I was stealthy back then and was able to get any information. I think I can help her with history or any other school work she may need help with, except computers. I don't know a thing about them." He said.

"I can teach you about computers, baby. It's not that hard, err difficult to learn how to use one. I'll teach you how to use mine, since you may be living with us. You never answered Mom's question, Will you move in with us? I don't want to be separated from my husband." I said.

"I'll go to the apartment for my things. Yes, I'm going to move in with you two. You need a man around the house, to fix things. I'd love to move in with my wife, my mate." He said picking me up hugging me.

"I love you, Angel. Always have, always will. I can't wait to start a life with you. First, Willow and Ms. Calendar will recurse you, with no happiness clause. Then, we'll play it by ear. I'm giving you permission to feed. Just make sure that their homeless and that no one will miss them, or criminals. Those are the limits. You can also drink me, if you get too hungry. Just don't take too much. I still need it to live. I'm not ready to die again." I said giggling.

"I love you, too, Buffy. I'll never be able to drain you dry. The day you that you die and it sticks, is the day I greet the sunrise. I wouldn't be able to live without you." He said never putting me down.

"Let's go home. Wait, how will you get there? It's daytime. You'll be a crispy critter before we get home." I said.

"I knew you'd be getting out today. The last time I was at the apartment I got a blanket. I can cover myself with it. I won't burn up. As soon as I get in the car, I'll just duck in the floor board." He said.

"I'll cover you. You won't burn with my big butt covering you." I said.

"You don't have a big butt. You've got a great butt. Everything about you is great." He said. He, finally, put me down. He grabbed his blanket and Mom grabbed my guitar as we headed for the entrance.

"I just remembered, I parked in the garage. Once we're inside, Angel should be fine. I guess I thought of the fact that Angel has a very fair complexion. He doesn't want to burn." Mom said.

"Good." He said.

He ran in the garage. He found Mom's jeep and waited for us. We appeared moments later. He hugged me again and kissed me lightly. He climbed in the floor board of the car. I covered him with the blanket and got in the car.

"Buffy, I want you to take it easy for the next two days. I want you in bed by ten. Angel and you can't **_sleep_** together until you are one-hundred-percent. I mean it." She said.

"Okay, Mom. Nothing to energy draining. I'll try not to do too much slaying, and the other words that end in 'ing', except sleeping." I said. Mom started the car and headed home.

We pulled into the driveway. I got out and went to the back to help Angel out of the car and into the house. We ran into the house.

"I'll go fix my room. I feel like lying down." I said walking upstairs to my room. I drew the blinds and the heavy curtains so the room was dark but not pitch black. I went to my closet and pulled out my favorite pajamas. They were purple shorts with a v-neck top. Father gave them to me when I was twelve. I can't believe they still fit. I climbed into bed and snuggled Mr. Gordo. The stuffed pig my favorite aunt had given me for my fifth birthday. Angel came in shortly there after. He saw me cuddled up to the stuffed pig. To him, that was the cutest sight he had ever seen. He stripped down to his boxers and climbed into bed with me. I shuddered when his cool body hit mine.

I abandoned Mr. Gordo, turned over, and snuggled into him.

"What about the pig?" He asked innocently.

"You're so much better than the pig. I rather cuddle with you." I said.

"I don't think Mr. Gordo will like being abandoned like that. Let him sleep in the middle." He said.

"Then something will be between us. Mr. Gordo, you understand, don't ya?" I said.

I held Mr. Gordo up to my ear, like he was saying something. Angel gave his trademark half smirk at the sheer innocence of my actions.

"He says that he understands why. He doesn't want to come between us." I said.

"What does he think of me?" Angel asked.

I put him up to my ear again. Angel's half smirk never waning.

"He likes you. He says that you make me happy, so that makes him happy. So come here and snuggle with me." I said.

"Be glad to." He said.

He turned away from me and placed Mr. Gordo on one of my nightstands. He turned back to me. His arms were cool as he pulled me to him. I leaned up and kissed him. His tongue snaked out and sought entrance to my mouth. I closed my lips fast as to say 'access denied', but opened them shortly there after. He ran his tongue all over the inside of my mouth, until it settled on my tongue. He massaged my tongue with his. I bit down lightly on his tongue and let go. He growled deep in his chest. He resumed massaging my tongue. I moaned deep in his mouth. I broke the kiss, fearing we might go to far, and let's face it, I'm not ready for my second time making love just yet.

"Why did you stop, baby?" He asked.

"I'm not ready for my second time making love just yet. Just hold me. I'll let you know when I'm ready for the next time. I know you are a man, and always want sex, but you need to know, if a woman feels sexy, doesn't mean she want to have sex. If I am horny, you'll know as soon as I do. If I am, don't even ask. Just start taking clothes off and dive right on in. I won't say no." I said.

I snuggled into his cool chest. I kissed and licked his chest. I laid my head on his chest. We drifted off to sleep.

Mom knocked on my door and tried the knob. It opened. She looked in and saw Angel and myself sleeping. She came over to the bed and lifted the covers and saw that I was fully clothed. Angel, however, was a different story. He was in his boxers. Mom rolled her eyes and left. Angel stirred next to me. That made me stir.

"What time is it?" Angel asked.

I looked at my clock. "7:45. I'm not sure if it's dark though." I said walking over to the window. I pulled back the curtains and bent one of the blinds in case it was still sunny out. Night had fallen. I opened the blinds. Angel sighed.

"Good, I can go and get my things now." He said.

"You really think I'm letting you go alone. I wanna ride with you. I'd rather ride you, but I'll settle for the car." I said.

"I take it, you feel better." He said.

"Yes. You have no idea. Let's go and get your stuff." I said.

"You mean, you may want to make love tonight?" He said.

"I might. Maybe after I show you how to work a computer, maybe not. Who knows." I said.

"Oh, yeah, you've got to show me you **_collection_**." He said.

"Yes, I do. I hope Mom doesn't know about all the porn I have on my computer. If she does, I'm am in deep shit. She thinks I'm a good little girl. She loves to brag on me for things I have no control over, like the slaying. She says I'm a hero. Puhlease. I'm a damsel in distress, if anything, trying to disguise myself as a warrior for the forces of good. Sometimes, I just want to be a normal girl, with a normal boyfriend, no offense, and normal friends. Not the three ring circus that it is. Someone, please stop the world, I wanna get off, not sexually right now." I said blushing.

"You're not much for damseling. I love that about you. You can take care of yourself. The way you handled that demon at the hospital, it made me glad I'm still in love with you." He said.

"Explain, lover." I said.

"Well, if I weren't, you'd kill me, literally. I would be dust blowing in the wind." He said laughing.

I ran back to the bed and climbed in. My lips lightly touched his. The kiss turned passionate in a split second. I slid my tongue in his mouth. I sought solace in his cool mouth. I massaged his tongue with mine. He moaned deep into my mouth. My hands tangled into his hair. His hands wandered lazily over my body. I pulled him closer, driving him deeper into my mouth.

I broke the kiss and said, "Oh, my God. We have to stop. I'll go too far. I'd rather wait until later tonight." I said.

"Okay. Can I, at least, get you off? It'll give me something to do with my hands and tongue." He said. He was a little disappointed that we weren't going to make love, but I just wasn't up to it.

"First, you want to make love to me, now you just want to eat me. You think I'm gonna refuse that. You're dreaming. I'll never refuse you. So, yes, you can." I said.

I pulled my top off, bearing my firm, supple breasts. I think I saw Angel's mouth water. He took my breasts in his cool hands. He massaged them gently. I rolled over on my back. I lifted my hips and slowly slid my shorts and panties off. He crushed me with his well-toned body. I love his body. He looks like a model. I leaned up and kissed him hungrily. I moaned deep in his mouth. He broke the kiss. He moved to the strong artery in my neck. He kissed and licked at it for what seemed like an eternity. I moaned softly. He moved again and settled at my breasts. He massaged them again, until he couldn't resist kissing them. He lowered his cool lips to one of the pale, pink tips. He tapped my nipple furiously with his tongue. Then he took one of the precious tips into his mouth and sucked gently. He continued to massage the other breast as he sucked. He abandoned the first nipple and began to suck the other. As he sucked, I got even more turned on. The throbbing between my legs, that had begun, was too much to bear. I moved my hand between my legs and began to rub. I rubbed until he felt the friction of my hand.

"Buffy, baby, what are you doing?" He asked.

"The throbbing was getting to me. I had to do something with my hands." I said.

"Here, tangle them in my hair. Let me do that. I think it's very sexy that you feel comfortable enough to do that in front of me. In fact I don't think a girl has, I mean and her know I was there. Just put your hands in my hair. I'll do the rest. I don't want you to over do it." He said with the promise of carnal pleasure in his voice.

I relaxed at the comments he made and tangled my hands in his hair. He kissed his way down to my sensual heat. He wasted no time diving right in. First, he flattened his tongue and placed it at my entrance. He began a slow pumping motion. I pressed his face deeper into my aching flesh. He growled and noticed the quivering nub of nerves. He quickly abandoned his pumping motion and started to lick and suck the sensitive nub.

"How's that, baby? Good, I take it?" He said as he stopped.

"Keep going, don't stop." I said as I gripped his head painfully and pressed it deeper into my wanting flesh. He growled at the pain, and complied. He licked, sucked, and lightly nibbled the bundle of nerves. He played my body like an instrument, masterfully. He brought me close to oblivion and slowly let me down.

"Baby, why did you stop? I was nearly there." I said puzzled.

"I know you were, but a little teasing never hurt. Trust me, this will make it more enjoyable." He said as he resumed the previous action. Just like before, he got me so close that I could taste the climax, but stopped and brought me down.

"Don't stop. Keep going, please. I'm so close." I whimpered.

"I know. Just trust me. I promise, it'll be worth it. Now stop protesting." He growled.

"Okay, but do that again, and I'll stake you." I said.

Even in the intense pleasure he was giving, he knew a death threat when he heard it. He knew I wouldn't act on it though, but needless to say, he didn't want to find out if it was true. The next time he felt me close to oblivion, he didn't stop. He brought me over and helped me ride the orgasmic waves that were crashing through me. I bit my bottom lip to stifle my moans, which would have been deafening. He continued to suck until my breathing became normal again. We laid there for a moment without speaking.

I got out of the bed, fumbled around for my panties. That's the trouble when desire takes over, you can never find your clothes after shedding them so quickly. I found them and slipped them on. I went over to my dresser for a bra. I found one and put it on. I walked over to my closet and pulled out a pair of daisy-duke shorts and a purple spaghetti strap top and threw them on. He threw on his silk purple shirt, and black leather pants. The bulge in his pants was quite noticeable. I would have to take care of that. We walked downstairs and were greeted by Mom.

"Hi, guys." Mom said.

"Hi, Mom." I said giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Let's go into the kitchen. You look better. Wait, you're glowing. " She said leading the way into the kitchen.

"Did you and Angel…" She said with her voice trailing off.

"No, Mom! We didn't. Okay. If you must know, I was dreaming about Angel doing those things to me. It was a very good dream, that is the reason for the glow." I said with no tone. If I had gotten defensive, she'd have known something.

"Angel, is that what happened?" She asked.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Mom. Yes, she is telling the truth." Angel said.

"Okay, why don't I believe you? Something happened between you two upstairs, just what, I think I know. I'm not saying another word about it though. It's okay if you two made love, Buffy, just don't lie about it." Mom said.

"Mom, I'm not lying. He… I… Oh, God. No, there was no 'sex' sex going on. Did something sexual happen, yes, but if you look at his pants, you'll see that he was not the one… I hope you get what I am saying because I don't want to say it aloud." I said.

"I get it. I told you nothing too exhausting for the next two days." She said.

"Do I look exhausted?" I said.

"No, you look like you did last… Did y'all do this in the hospital?" She said.

"You want the truth, or do you want me to lie?" I said.

"I want the truth. All of it." She said.

"Yes, we did." Mom rolled her eyes. "It was all she could think about. If I didn't, she'd have gone mad, or staked me." He said.

"Buffy, the doctor told not to do that until you were well. At least you didn't get caught. Your grandma caught me with your dad one time. Believe me, our talk, was a cake walk compared to the one your grandma gave me. That was the reason your father and I got married, she bullied him into it." She said.

"Did you even love Father?" I asked.

"I loved him, but I wasn't in love with him. Not the way you love Angel or the way I love Rupert." She said.

"Oh, I'm only here because, you and Father slept together. I don't care. At least I am here. Most people get dealt a crappy hand and have to play it. At least I have you guys around me. My husband and my mother, who love me more than words can say." I said throwing myself into Angel's arms and acting as if I was in a cheesy romance novel.

"Oh, you two. You act like you're in some romance novel. What can I say about it? I act the same way with Rupert, behind closed doors, I mean." She said.

"Mom, the scoobies are going to find out sooner or later. What will they think if they know you are keeping secrets from them?" I said.

"I don't know what they'll think. Don't think I've forgotten what happened when y'all found out. When Rupert came in your hospital room, the two of you burst into laughter." She said.

"I'm sorry about that. Oh, who am I kidding, I'm not sorry. It was just funny that he popped in at that precise moment in time, like some television show, or movie, or book." I said.

"It was. I guess I didn't see it. Oh, well, are you two going somewhere?" She said.

"Yes, ma'am. We're going to Angel's old apartment to get his things. We'll be back soon" I said.

"Okay. What time?" She said.

"I don't know. I'll call you when we are about to leave." He said.

"Okay. I love you, two." Mom said.

"I love you, too, Mom." I said. I kissed her on the cheek.

"I love you, too." Angel said repeating my action.

"If I didn't know you loved me, I'd be jealous at you kissing my mom." I said jokingly.

"Go on, get outta here, you two. The night is young and so are you. Have fun. Buffy, I want details when you get home, if it's not too late." She said winking at me.

Mom had done a complete 180 in the past few days. First, she doesn't want to hear about my sex life, now she does. Oh, well, I guess that's just life on the Hellmouth. I grabbed Angel's hand and led the way out the kitchen door.

"Let's get this over with. I'm ready to make love to my husband." I said.

"I know. I have a bad feeling. Something's about to go down. Just what I don't know." He said.

"I know. I feel it too. Let's just hope it isn't someone who wants to tear us apart. I am so sick of that shit. It's seems that's all that people want." I said.

"Why can't they grasp the fact that I still love you?" He asked.

"I don't know. Let's just go and not think about things that will give us a headache. I don't have any aspirin." I said as he opened my door to the car and helped me inside. He walked to his door and climbed. We got to the apartment building where Angel had once lived. We got out and went inside. We made our way to his apartment.

The door was ajar. "Buff, hang back 'til I see what's inside." He said.

He pushed the door open a little farther. We heard two voices inside.

"I don't get it. The poof has been here. Where do you think he is now, ducks?" Spike called out to Drusilla in his thick accent.

"I don't know where Daddy could be. We have to find him, before the slayer hurts him." She said.

"Why in the hell are you here, Spike?" Angel boomed in his Angelus voice.

"Angelus, we were just looking for you. Dru's had a vision. You're gonna be in great pain." Spike said.

"I don't give a damn what she's seen. You two are gonna die." Angel said as he lunged at Dru.

I wasted no time in helping him. Spike was no trouble to kill, seeing as he was in a wheelchair. He'd been in a wheelchair since they tried to kill Angel, not Angelus as he is now, even though we still call him Angel.

Spike's last words were, "Dru, why?"

"Your lover's gone now, psycho. Now, it's your turn." I said as I threw Angel the stake.

Angel tried to stake her, but failed. We'd have to wear her down first. I didn't want a full on battle, but I got one. Finally, Angel staked her. I fell into his arms tired and still feeling weird.

As if on cue, "Do you think that was the reason we felt weird?" He said.

"No, I don't. It'll pass. Let's pack up the car." I said.

"Good. At least, we don't have to worry about them coming between us again." He said.

"We'd better call Giles and tell him the latest development. I'll do it. You pack up the car. I'll help in a sec." I said.

"All I need to do is pack my clothes and weapons. Everything else can stay. The artwork, I'll probably just give to Mom. She can put it in the gallery. I think she'd like that." He said.

I walked over to the phone. I dialed Giles' number.

"Hello?" He answered.

"Giles, hey, it's me." I said.

"Buffy, is everything… Are you… Is your mother…" He said. He couldn't complete a sentence. He was worried something was going on.

"Giles, calm down. Everything is fine. Better than fine. I'm great. Angel is great. Mom is great. The reason I called is Spike and Drusilla won't bother us anymore." I said.

"How do you know?" He asked.

"They are literally, dust blowing in the wind. Angel and I staked them ourselves." I said.

"Good show, you two. The gang will be glad to hear of this. We'll let them know in the morning." He said.

"I'll let you celebrate this good news however you want to. I gotta go. I gotta help Angel pack." I said.

"You're at the apartment. Pack? Dear, Lord, whatever for?" He said.

"Angel's moving in with me and Mom." I said.

"Oh, congratulations. I know how much you love each other. I'll let you get through. I'll see you in the morning, at school, yes?" He said.

"Yes, I'll be at school in the morning. Angel will be too. He doesn't want to let me out of his sight these days. Bye, Giles." I said.

"Bye, Buffy." He said. The line disconnected.

"How is Giles, baby?" Angel said kissing me lightly.

"Good. He's glad that Spike and Dru are gone. As am I. Now, is there anything else that needs packing. Sorry, I took so long on the phone." I said.

"Nope, this is it, my love." He said.

"So that's all, huh?" I asked in a low, husky voice.

"I'll be right back. I'll put this in the trunk of my car." He said leaving the small room.

I turned to the bed. I saw a bright flash and then the images poured into my mind. His cool lips all over my body made me shiver. I smiled at the memories that we had made, and all the memories we will no doubt make.

He walked up behind me. He put his arms around me and whispered, "I see that, smile. I take it, we're in 'happyland'." .

"Baby, you have no idea. I was remembering the other night." I said turning around and shooting him a look that told him as much.

"If you're remembering the other night, then you're not just in happyland. You're in satisfiedland too." He said.

"I'm not quite satisfied yet, but I plan to be." I said.

"What are you planning to do?" He asked with his trademark half smirk on his face. I knew what was coming next.

I darted out of his reach. He ran after me. I pulled my shirt and bra off as we left his apartment. He was growling at the fact that some other man would see his mate without her shirt, but at the same time his was getting really turned on too. I kept on running until I made it to his car. I took off my pants and panties and threw them into the street. I opened the car door and crawled into the back seat. He took off his long, black, leather coat and put it in the front seat.

"Lover, you will regret that. No one can look onto my mate's naked body unless I say so." He growled.

"Did you see anyone around, lover? That was the only reason I did it. I knew you'd love it." I said.

"There wasn't anyone around. You're right. I did love it. Now, I'm going to make love to you, but it will be hard and fast." He said.

"Good, that's the way I like it." I said.

"Really? I thought you liked it slow and easy." He said.

"For the first time, I did. Now, the pressure is gone. We can do it however we want." I said.

"Good." He said.

He crushed me with his hard, muscled body.

"Don't forget. We don't want Mom down our throats for not being careful." I said.

"Baby, don't worry. I got it covered. Like I told Mom, I don't want to piss her off. I've heard that Moms are the worst people to piss off." He said taking my advice and pulling a little package out of his restricting pants. I ran my hands over the silky material of his shirt. My trembling fingers toggled the buttons. My hands lazily roamed over his chest and shoulders. When my hands hit his shoulders the shirt slowly slid down his back. I grabbed the shirt and put it in the front seat. He leaned down and attacked my mouth with his. Our tongues dueled for dominance. His won. He licked the inside of my mouth and glided over my teeth. He then settled back on my tongue. He massaged a little harder than usual. I bit down a little on his tongue. He growled and broke the kiss with that maneuver.

"Baby, where did you learn to do that? It drives me crazy." He said.

"I didn't learn it anywhere. I just did it with you in the shower yesterday. I figured you'd like it. I know the demon in you likes pain so… I figured, what the hell. Why not?" I said.

"Well, I do like pain. That's just enough to get me going. I love it when you do that. So do that as often as you want." He said resuming the kiss. He reached down and fumbled with his belt. He, finally, got in undone, after what seemed like forever. He laid it in the front seat too. He shed the restricting pants and put them with the rest of his clothes. He picked his condom up out of the floor board. He opened it and put it on. I didn't want Mom getting mad at me for getting pregnant. He embedded himself in my sheathed heat. I wrapped my legs around his waist. He started out hard and fast and only got harder and faster. I clenched my inner muscles around his ever hardening member.

"Oh, God, Buffy, it feels like you're going to rip my dick off. It feels so good, baby. I can't hold out much longer. Oh, shit, I'm coming." Angel roared in the face of his own world-shattering orgasm.

He lowered his head to my breasts and snagged a nipple in his mouth. He sucked gently, turning me on. He wasted no time abandoning the nipple and diving into my heat. He did say he couldn't get enough of my essence. He sucked on the sensitive nub. I felt my legs being to shudder, and my heart was beating so loud, it even hurt my ears. My world was crumbling around me as the climax raced through my body.

"Oh, God, Angel. I'm coming, baby. I'm coming. Oh, my, God. Oh, Angel. Yes." I cried out in sweet release.

"How was… Oh, shit." He screamed as he put on his pants really quick.

He got out of the car, clutching his chest.

"Buffy." He said as he fell to the street. I grabbed his coat and got out of the car. I put it on quickly.

"Angel, are you okay?" I said placing a hand on his surprisingly **_warm_** body. He was warm. How could this be? I placed my head to his chest. His heart was beating. He stirred when I laid my head on his chest.

"Buffy, what happened? You're naked." He said breathlessly, smiling at my naked body.

"Angel, you're alive." I said.

"Yeah, as alive as I gonna get." He said.

"No, look in the rear view mirror of your car." I said.

He looked and saw himself. He put two fingers to his wrist. He had a pulse. He really was alive.

"Buffy, how can this be? I'm really alive. How?" He said.

"We made love." I said.

"Yes, five days ago." He said.

"No, just now. You don't remember. It'll come back to you." I said.

"Oh, yes, it's coming back now. What Angelus did. Y'all still called him Angel, and he didn't mind." He said.

"I can't believe you're human now. I finally have the normal boyfriend I've always wanted." I said hugging him. He picked me up and swung me around. I guess he kept his vampiric strength.

"Mom'll get angry if we don't get back soon. We'd better go. Oh, shit, it's after midnight. You'll be in trouble. We'd better be quiet when we get home." He said.

"Oh, my gosh, you're right. She'll be mad if we wake her up. She has to get up early to open the gallery." I said climbing in the car. I just let the coat fall open so I would be naked to his now human eyes.

"I'm human. I can't to make love to you as a human. It's been so long since I've experienced sex as a human." He said. He started the car and headed home.

"A virgin, huh?' I joked.

"Not at all." He said as we laughed together.

We pulled into the driveway quietly. We got out of the car, he grabbed his shirt and slipped it on. He didn't button it though. We walked to the porch. I was clutching the coat shut so I couldn't give the neighbors a peep show. We stopped on the porch for a second and kissed. His first human kiss with me.

I quietly opened the door and slipped in. Angel then followed. I put one foot on the squeaky hardwood at the front door, and Mom heard me sneaking in. She came in from the living room.

"Buffy, do you have any idea what time is? I've been worried sick." She said. She looked down and noticed that I was wearing Angel's leather jacket. I was clutching it rather tightly to my body. "Why are you wearing his coat? Why are you clutching to… You two made love, didn't you?" She continued.

"Mom, that's the least of it right now. Yes, we did, but Angelus isn't here right now. Angel is. Here, feel of his wrist." I said offering his wrist to Mom.

She put two fingers to his wrist and saw he had a pulse.

"Angel, you're alive. Like really alive?" She said in astonishment.

"Yes, ma'am." He said.

"But, how?" She asked.

Angel blushed redder than he had ever before.

"You and Buffy **_did_** make love. His humanity was restored because you two made love again. This is turning out too much like a romance novel." She said.

"Now, do you see the reason we were sneaking back in? We didn't know how to tell you that Angel is human now." I said.

"Yes. Now go to your room. You're both grounded for three weeks." She said.

"Yes, ma'am." We said with Mom laughing.

We giggled and went upstairs. I opened the door to our room. I walked over to the bed. I slid off his jacket and climbed in the bed. He stripped down to nothing and climbed into bed with me. I snuggled into his now warm body and drifted off to sleep.

My alarm woke us up at 5:35 in the morning. Time to get ready for school. I had been out for three days and was looking forward to being back.

"Angel, get up. Time for me to get ready for school." I said.

"Good morning, honey. How'd you sleep?" He asked.

"I had a weird dream." I said.

"What about?" He asked.

"I dreamt that we killed Spike and Drusilla. Then, we made love, and you became human." I said.

"Not a dream, baby. It really happened. I'm human." He said taking my hand and placing it over his now beating heart.

"I can't believe it wasn't a dream. I've dreamt of this moment for a long time. Seeing you in the sunlight." I said as I leaned up and kissed him.

Mom knocked on the door and said, "Are you two up? Are you decent?" She said laughing.

"Decent enough, come in, Mom." I said holding the sheet up over my breasts.

"So, how'd you sleep? Good, I take it?" She asked.

"We've been spending too much time around Giles. Yes, ma'am. Could you open the blinds and curtains, please, Mom?" I said.

"Sure, no problem." She said opening the blinds and curtains. It was still dark outside.

"You get up when it's still dark out?" He asked.

"Yes. Remember, I used to come visit you before school with Willow?" I said.

"Oh, yeah. How do you think the scoobies will take the news that I am human now?" He asked.

"Dunno. We'll know soon. Let's get a shower and get dressed. We'll see you in the kitchen for breakfast, Mom. We love you." I said.

"Love you guys, too. See ya in a few." She said leaving.

"Let's get that shower." He said.

"Right behind ya, baby!" I said.

We ran in the bathroom. I reached in and turned on the shower. I grabbed him and began to kiss him passionately. I tangled my hands in his hair. We backed into the shower, never breaking the kiss. His back was against the wall. He grabbed me. He turned me around and made sure my back was against the wall. He placed my legs around his waist. I put my hands on his shoulders for leverage. He never broke the kiss. He finally broke the kiss so we could breathe.

"I'm still getting used to having to breathe." He said breathlessly.

"Me too. I mean…" I said.

"I know what you meant. I've been meaning to ask you something." He said.

"Sure, lover. What is it?" I said.

"That's just it. Angelus called you lover. How would you feel if I did?" He said.

"I'm fine with it. I loved it when he called me lover. So, if you want to, it is fine with me. I'd love it if you did." I said.

"Good. I think I liked it when he called your lover. I'm just glad there's no way he can come back. I'm not a vampire anymore so the soulless part of me is gone. My soul is never going anywhere until I die, which won't be for a very long time." He said.

"You know we can't make love right now. If you couldn't before, you can get me pregnant now and no condoms in here. Make sure you bring plenty to school, because I have first and fourth period free. That'll give us and three hours to be together." I said.

"I will. I want to please you. That's all I've ever wanted. You never showed me your collection." He said.

"I didn't, and I said I would. Let's finish up here, and I'll show you. We have a little time. Speaking of that, did you bring the tape from your apartment?" I said.

"Yes, I slipped it in with my clothes. I'll hide it with our weapons. Mom doesn't go through your weapons chest, does she?" He said.

"No, but Giles might. If he asks, I'll say it's training techniques. He'll shut up about it. If he wants to watch it, I'll just snatch it for his hands and hide it again. As for Mom I don't think she'll look, unless Giles tells her there is a tape in my, err, our weapons chest." I said.

"Good. I'm starving, thankfully not for blood. I don't have the blood lust anymore. Thank God. I can actually take you on a picnic in the middle of the afternoon and eat." He said.

His hands wandered to my breasts. He massaged them gently. His warm, nimble hands felt good on my warm skin. His every touch set me on fire.

"Stop, Angel, please. I can't take it anymore. If you keep this up, you'll have to make love to me. Not that that's a bad thing. It's just we're not prepared." I said.

"How about I do this." He said. He kissed a line down to my sensual heat. He sucked the sensitive nub into his warm lips. It felt funny, his lips being warm, I mean. I tangled my hands in his hair and pushed his face deeper into my aching, pulsing heat. I gasped when he pumped two fingers into my entrance. I rocked my hips to meet his fingers. My legs began to tremble. He could feel the little signs that I was nearing a climax and stopped all actions. He let me down just a little and began to kiss the quivering nub again. He felt the tremor beneath my skin. He got me so close again and let me down again.

"Why do you insist on teasing me? I don't tease you anymore, do I?" I said.

"No, but I thought you liked it when I teased you. I thought it made you come harder, when I did." He said.

"It does, but…" I said.

"Well, just be quiet and enjoy the ride." He said.

He began to kiss the quivering bundle of nerves again. I bit my lower lip to stifle my moans. My legs felt like jelly. I felt that if he wasn't holding me up, that I'd have fallen to the floor. My hands tangled in his hair again, pushing him deeper and pushing me over the edge. I came. The orgasmic waves rolled through me like lighting. He stopped kissing the quivering nub and nuzzled at my neck.

"Wow, you'd better hold me up. My legs feel like jelly." I said kissing his cheek.

"I take it you are satisfied?" He asked.

"Yes, completely. How does it feel? Being human suddenly?" I said.

"I'm glad to be human. I wish I knew if I still had my vampire strength. How much you weigh?" Angel said.

"Angel! Never ask a girl how much she weighs, or how old she is." I said mock punching him, "I weigh 113lbs." I said giggling.

"Let's get through with our shower, and I'll see if I can carry you back to the bedroom, so you can show me your collection." He said to me.

"Sounds like a plan." I said.

I turned my back to him. He grabbed a wash rag and put some lavender body wash on it. He pulled me close to his chest and rubbed the soap all over the front of my body. I shudder when he landed on my breasts. I ground my hips against his hard member. He growled. He pushed me away and washed my back. I stood under the water to rinse the soap off of my body.

"Your turn. Do you mind smelling like lavender or do you have your own body wash?" I asked.

"I don't mind smelling like you. People will just think we made love again. With us is usually a pretty good assumption." He said.

"Okay. Turn around." I said pulling him close to me. I let the rag glide over his perfect body. I pushed him away and washed his back. He stood under the water to rinse the soap off. I looked up into his deep chocolate eyes. Love was shining out from them like sunlight from the sky.

"Let's get out of here now. I'm ready to see what you've been hiding from me since we started dating." He said.

"Okay. I'm ready to get out of the shower anyway." I said grabbing the towels I had gotten for us when we came in here. We wrapped them around our naked bodies. He picked me up in his arms with no problems. I nuzzled at his neck. He sat me at my desk and watched me boot up my laptop. The Windows 98 logo came up.

"Technology never ceases to amaze me." He said.

"It gets better. Just watch." I said pulling up my collection.

"Wow, you really do watch. You're collection is bigger than mine. This is behavior I love in a life partner. That's one I haven't seen. How'd he do that?" He said laughing

"I don't know. What happened to 'mate'?" I asked.

"I'm not a vampire anymore. No more of the old life, Buffy." He said kissing me lightly on the cheek. I turned off my laptop and put it in my back pack.

"Oh, shoot. I liked it when you called me mate, but it's okay. You can call me lover or wife. Whichever you like best." I said.

"I don't think I want to call you 'wife'. Sounds too dominating. 'Lover' is more playful." He said picking me up out of the chair and stood me up. I looked at my clock. It only read 5:45. Damn, we'd only been up ten minutes. I walked over to the bed. I took off my towel, lifted the covers, and got back into bed. He growled and did the same.

"Angel, don't forget." I said.

"Lover, don't worry. I got it covered. You'll have to be quiet though. You don't want Mom barging in here." He said grabbing his pants off the floor. He pulled out a condom and ripped it open. He put it on and embedded himself in me. I wrapped my legs around his hips. He began thrusting his hips. I moved my hips in time with his. My arms wrapped around him and pulled him close. I attacked his mouth with mine. My tongue parted his warm lips. I lightly ran my tongue over his. He bit down a little bit on my tongue, driving me crazy. I broke the kiss. He smiled at me.

"Buffy." He whispered.

"Yes, lover." I said looking in his eyes. They said what I needed to know.

"I'm…" He tried to say.

"Shh. I know. Just ride it out and be quiet." I whispered.

He kept thrusting. He jerked his head back and tightly closed his eyes. I pulled his head down and lightly whispered, "Honey, open your eyes. I want you to see everything when you come, especially me."

He opened his eyes and looked into mine. He leaned down a kissed me, as he rode the waves of his climax to shore. He stopped and rolled over to my left side and pulled me close. He lightly kissed me again.

"Buffy, That was amazing. Probably the best time ever." He said.

"Angel, I agree. You are better as a human than a vampire. It's a compliment, not an insult." I said.

"That's the way I took it. We'd better get ready for school. I'm sure the gang will want to hear the good news of me being human." He said as he reached down and discarded the used condom.

"I agree. Mom will get worried about us, if we don't get down stairs for breakfast. She might even break the door down, and we don't want that." I said climbing out of bed. I sauntered over to my dresser and pulled out a pair of black silk panties and a matching bra.

"Where did you get those?" He asked.

"I've had them for a while. I was saving them for the first time we made love, but desire took us over a few days ago so you didn't get to see me in them." I said slipping into my panties and bra.

"You look like an angel. If it hadn't been for you, I'd still be a vampire living in the dark. You really saved me from an eternity of being damned." He said.

"Stop, you'll make me blush." I said walking to my closet pulling out an old tee-shirt with a picture of Cartman from "South Park". The shirt read "The fate of our civilization is in my hands". I also grabbed a pair of jeans. I grabbed my favorite pair of Sketchers.

"Cartman? You watch 'South Park'?" He asked.

"Yeah, I like to watch it. I like to see what that little fucker will get into." I said.

"Buffy! I've never heard you say the word 'fuck' before. I'm shocked, but I like it." He said.

He ruffled through his bag and grabbed a pair of jeans. He, then grabbed a pair of purple silk boxers and slipped the on. He pulled on the jeans. He dug through the bag again and grabbed an old tee-shirt of his. It was a Cartman shirt too. His said "Respect My Authority". He grabbed his Sketchers and slipped them on.

"I see you watch too." I said. I went to my dresser. I grabbed some socks and walked to the bed. I slipped on a sock and chased it with a shoe and repeated the process with the other foot.

"You ready?" I asked.

"Yes, let's go." He said as we went downstairs.

"I think we should switch shirts." I said.

"Why, Lover?" He asked.

"Everyone knows **_I_** wear the pants in this relationship." I said laughing.

"That's cute, but the one you have on is better suited for you. The fate of our civilization is in your hands." He said.

"Oh crap. I feel so sorry for the world." I said laughing harder. He joined in.

"Good morning, you two. What's so funny?" She said.

"Buffy was saying that she wore the pants in this relationship. Then, I said the shirt she had on suited her better than this one because the fate of out civilization is in her hands. Then, she said oh crap. I feel so sorry for the world." He said. Mom joined in the laughter.

"That's a good one you two. Are you going to school too, Angel?" Mom said.

"Yes, ma'am." He said.

"You don't have to call me ma'am if you don't want to. I mean, you are older than me." She said.

"Not for long. I'm going to drop Buffy off at school and then I'm going to take my birth certificate and passport and apply for citizenship. I also need to get a valid driver's license. It won't take too long. We'll be home around 5:00." He said.

"Okay. I'll see you then." She said pointing the way to kitchen.

"You made breakfast. Oh, it all looks so good, but I'm not really hungry. I'll just eat one thing. Don't want to gain weight." I said.

"You'd be beautiful if you weighed 500lbs.. I can eat a horse, Mom. I haven't eaten in centuries." He said.

"Good, that's what I made. Just kidding. What do you like?" She said.

"I'll try a little of everything. I'm easy…" He said.

"I'll say." I said laughing.

"I'm easy to please." He said.

"Good joke, sweetie." Mom said.

Angel grabbed a plate and loaded it with biscuits, bacon, and sausage. He sat at the bar and ate, like I'd never seen him eat before. I grabbed a biscuit and a slice of bacon and ate it. He finished his breakfast and stood.

"Mom, that was delicious. Love you." He said kissing her on the cheek. He walked over to me and took my hand.

"Are you ready for the first time out in the sun without becoming dust?" I asked.

"Yes. I am." He said as he opened the front door and held it open.

"Ladies first." He replied and held his hand pointing the way out the door.

"Thank you, kind sir." I said jokingly.

I walked out onto the porch and waited for him to appear next to me. It was now 6:30. School started at 7:00. I always got there at least a half hour early to check in with Giles. I grabbed his hand and walked out into the sunlight. He looked like an innocent child taking in everything for the first time.

"You okay, lover? You look like an innocent child taking everything in for the first time." I asked.

"Yeah, it'll take some getting used to, but I'm up to it." He said never letting go of my hand and leading the way to the car. He opened my door and helped me inside. He ran to the other side and got in. He started the car and took off. His car is a convertible, so he let the top down. I sat close to him. He put his arm around me. We pulled into the parking lot of Sunnydale High School. He parked the car and got out. He walked around to my side whistling and twirling his keys. He was whistling his favorite song. He opened my door and helped me out. We started to walk to the entrance. Angel's look never waned.

"Let me carry your books." He said taking my books in one hand and my hand in the other.

"Angel, may I ask you a personal question?" I asked.

"Lover, you can ask me anything. Shoot." He said.

"How old were you when Darla sired you?" I asked.

"I was 24. Times were different. I was a man at that age. If you could call me a man. I was a drunkard and a whelp. Sleeping with women I hardly knew, but those days are over. I'm with you now." He said.

"So you'll be 24 again, without being a whelp and a drunkard, as you put it." I said.

"Yes. You've made me change. Love has made me different." He said kissing me before we walked through the door of the school.

We made our way to the library. Giles was there already. No shocker there. He's always here.

"Buffy. Angel? I didn't expect to see you. I thought I wouldn't see you until tonight after sunset." He said.

"Giles…" I said.

"Yes, Buffy. If it's bad news, I don't want to hear it." He said.

"No, It's not. I… Angel's… Oh, god. There's just no easy way to tell you this. Come here, I'd rather just show you." I said. Giles made his way across the room to us.

Angel held his wrist to the older gentleman. "Feel." Was all Angel said.

Giles did as Angel said. He felt a pulse.

"Angel, you're alive." He said.

"Looks that way." I said.

"I best consult my books on this revelation. It's not reversible, is it? What I mean, the thing that triggered it, can't undo it, can it?" He asked.

"No, trust us. The thing that triggered it, can't untrigger it. It's set in stone." I said.

"Lover, I can speak for myself." He said.

"Sorry. I was in the moment." I said.

Willow, Oz, Xander, and Cordelia came in the library.

"Angel, the sun is up, and to you, it can be so hurtful" Cordelia said.

"Why is he here?" Xander said.

I shot him a look. "Hey, just wondering. The sun is up. Shouldn't he be dust?" Xander said.

"Nope, human now." Angel said.

"Oh, okay. WHAT?" Willow said.

"It's true. Angel's human now. Spike and Drusilla are dust." I said.

"Good job. What triggered it?" Willow said.

"I don't know." I lied shooting a look to only Willow saying 'I'll tell ya later.'.

She nodded.

"I need to get to city hall. I love you, lover." He said.

"I love you, more, lover." I said as I leaned up a kissed him. He turned and walked outside.

"Angel's really human. I can't believe it. You must be in happyland right now." Willow said.

"You have no idea." I said.

7:00. The bell rang for home room.

"I'll research the thing with Angel when he gets back and let you know something by shortly." Giles said.

"Thanks." I said leaving.

I walked out into the hallway. Willow fell into step with me.

"So, what triggered Angel becoming human?" Willow asked.

"I think you already know the answer to that question." I said.

"You two made love again, didn't you?" Willow asked.

"Yes, and it was fabulous. He was fabulous as a human too." I said.

"Wow. You and Angel can be together without him losing his soul. Wait, you said as a human, he was fabulous. What did you mean by that?" She said.

"Last night wasn't the only time we were together. We were this morning too. In the shower and my bed." I said.

"Well, that's not too much information. I can read what you're thinking. Now, details." Willow said as we walked into Mr. Klark's homeroom. We took our seats and whispered back and forth until role call was over. I didn't want to say anything to her with everyone around. Everyone would think I was a slut. The bell rang for first period. Willow and I walked out of the classroom and walked into the library.

"He was like an animal. I mean the things we did. Wow, doesn't even begin to cover it." I said as Giles came up to us.

"What are you girls talking about?" Giles said.

"My husband." I said.

They both looked confused. "Here it is in a nutshell. You see this ring." I said showing them the claddagh ring. "Well, this mean Angel and I are married." I said.

"WHAT?" They said.

"You heard me right. Angel and I are married." I said. The doors to the library opened. Speak of the devil.

"Talking about me, are you? Hello, lover. I'm back." He said.

"Always." I said kissing him.

"You two have got to stop being alone together." Giles said.

"Why? He's human, and trust me when I say, that what triggered it can't untrigger it. Just trust me." I said.

"Trust her, Giles. She knows what she's talking about." Willow said.

"How would you know? She told you what triggered it." Giles said.

"Yes, she did. I'm her **_best_** friend. Why wouldn't she?" She said.

"Quite right. Angel, if you want to research, you are more than welcome to. Buffy, you don't want to help research, do you?" Giles said. Willow left to get to class.

"You want research, I'm your girl. Anything to see why this happened. I'm thrilled it happened." I said.

"Me too. Let's go grab some books." Angel said.

"Okay, lover." I said.

We walked up the stairs and ducked into the stacks. He leaned me gently against one of them and kissed me.

"I missed you." I said.

"I know. I missed you too." He said.

"How'd everything go?" I asked.

"Great. I'm legal in this country. I have a driver's license. I'm Angel William O'Daniel. I'm also 24, which means I was born in 1974, in Belfast, Ireland. Relocated here last year. Worked with Giles in the library until I applied for citizenship." He said giving me the life story he had given the immigration officer.

"You know, you could've avoided all of that and just married me for real. As long as you had a birth certificate and a passport, you were set." I said.

"Damn, wish you'd have said something earlier. The paperwork was a headache." He said laughing.

"Now, we can plan a real wedding. I can't wait to be your wife, legally." I said.

"I can't wait either. Now, kiss me again." He said. I leaned up and kissed his forehead, cheek, earlobe, down his jawline, the strong artery in his neck, and finally settled on his lips. He parted my lips with his tongue. He massaged my tongue with his. I moaned deep in his mouth. He ran his hands over the smooth fabric of my jeans. He ran his hand underneath the waistband of my jeans. He pumped two fingers into my tight entrance.

"Ohh, lover. We just made love this morning, and you're this tight already. I'll have to fix that." He said.

"I don't care, just keep doing that. Oh, god." I moaned quietly.

"You think we can get away after a little research?" He asked.

"Yes." I moaned moving my hips to meet his fingers.

"Okay, let's get to our research. I'd better stop." He said taking his fingers out of me and looking at them.

"Damn, you really got me going. I don't know how I'm gonna focus on research being this turned on." I said. He lifted his fingers to his mouth and sucked on them, savoring the sweet taste of me. He rolled his eyes at my taste.

"I can't wait to have my mouth on your pussy." He said kissing me. He broke the kiss.

"I can't wait either. Feeling your tongue on and in my pussy. I love it." I said.

"Okay, he's gonna think we're making love. We'd better grab a seat at the table." He said.

I took his hand and let the way to the table. He sat down and, I sat in his lap. I grabbed a book and opened it. I read a little of the boring text. I read a passage about Angelus' and Angel's curse. It said that a moment of true happiness would take his soul away, but that if he experienced another moment of true happiness that it would restore his humanity.

"Angel, here it is. The reason it happened. It was the original curse. If you achieved true happiness that it would strip your soul, but if you did it again it restore your humanity, make you human, as it did. It says here that nothing can change it. You are human, permanently." I said.

"It really can't be reversed?" He asked.

"Nope. It is set in stone. It's done. You're stuck with me until we die." I said.

"Good. We'd better tell Giles." He said. I giggled into his neck.

"Okay. Giles, I found something." I said a little louder than usual. He was in the office, so he needed to hear me. Ms. Calendar came in the library.

"Hi, Ms. Calendar. How are you today?" I said.

"I'm good, Buffy. Angel, you're out. I didn't expect you to be. I thought you would be sleeping until sunset." She said.

Giles came out of the office. He sat at the table with Angel and myself.

"Oh, hi, Jenny. Is there something that… Did you want something?" He asked.

"Yes. I was wanting to know when you wanted me to recurse Angel." She asked

"No need. Angel's human." Giles said.

"How? Wait, you two made love again?" She said.

"Yes, we did. Last night. We went to his apartment to pack up his things, and it just happened." I said.

"Giles, no need to keep researching. Buffy said it was set in stone." Angel said.

"They're right, Rupert. The happiness clause was two way. If Angel achieved true happiness, he would lose his soul, but if he achieved it again, it would restore his humanity, no clause after that. It is set in stone, as she said. Angel won't revert back to being a vampire." She said.

"I told you two to stop being alone together. I guess it's not all bad. I mean, he is human now. You can do what you want. Your being alone made him human." Giles said.

"Would you excuse us for a moment? Angel, come with me. I need you to be there when I talk to my history teacher. You can tell him that you're going to be my tutor." I said.

"Right behind ya, Lover." He said.

We walked out of the library. We looked around to see if anyone was around us. The coast was clear, so we ducked into the bathroom. I looked into each stall to make sure no one was in there, it was clear. Angel locked the door. I went into one of the stalls. I pulled my pants and panties off and waited. He came into the stall. He pulled his shorts and boxer down and sat on the toilet. I reached in his pocket and found a condom. He took it from my hand. He ripped it open and put it on. I straddled him. I leaned in and kissed him. I moved up and down in a slow, agonizing rhythm. He cradled my back. When I thought that he was tiring of my slow rhythm, I sped up.

"Buffy." He whispered.

"Shh. I know." I said.

He never took his eyes off me as he came. I kissed him as he rode the climatic waves to shore. He laid his head on my chest completely sated and spent.

"Wow. Making love in public **_is_** a lot better than I thought it would be." I said.

"Your turn. Think you can be quiet." He said.

"As a mouse." I said.

He stood up, discarded the condom and pulled his pants up. I sat on the edge of the toilet close to the front. He dove right in. He kissed, licked and sucked until I thought I was gonna lose my mind in the intense pleasure he was giving. He usually liked to tease me, but since we were in school, he thought he'd better not. When he felt me close to oblivion, he didn't stop. He pushed me over and helped me ride the waves to shore. He stopped and nuzzled at my neck until my breathing became normal.

"We'd better get back. Do you want to talk to your history teacher?" Angel said.

"Yeah, his planning period is right now. He doesn't have a class right now." I said. I grabbed my pants and panties off the floor and slipped them on.

I walked to the door and unlocked it. I looked out, no one in sight. We walked out into the hallway. I grabbed his hand and started walking to Mr. Callahan's room.

"Buffy Summers, why aren't you in class?" Principal Snyder called after me.

"I was going to Mr. Callahan's room right now to tell him that Angel's gonna be my tutor." I said.

"And who is this big guy?" He asked.

"This is Angel. He is a student at UC Sunnydale. He is my history tutor. This is his only day without classes so he has time he has to tutor me." I said hoping he was convinced.

"I'd say pleased to meet you, but you already know I'm not. Maybe you can straighten out this juvenile delinquent. One less off my hands." Principal Snyder said.

"Yes, sir. Whatever you say, sir." Angel said.

"Okay, get there and back to the library for your tutoring. That's all." He said walking off.

"Arrogant, little troll. I wish someone would put him in his place." I said.

"He's not as bad as all that, is he?" Angel asked.

"He's worse. He's always on my case, threatening to expel me. He drives me crazy." I said.

"Let's just find your history teacher." He said.

"Okay, lover. I know why you want this over with. You're ready for round two." I said giggling.

"With you, I'm always up for round two, three, four, five, and six." He said laughing.

We, finally found Mr. Callahan's room, room 375. I knocked on the door.

"Come in." Mr. Callahan said in a brogue accent.

"Mr. Callahan?" I said.

"Ahh, Buffy. One of my favorite pupils. How are you feeling?" He said.

"Much better, thanks. Mr. Callahan, this is Angel. Angel, this is my history teacher, Mr. Callahan. Angel is my boyfriend and a student a UC Sunnydale. He's gonna tutor me in history." I said.

"Buffy, I'm hurt. I thought you wanted me to tutor you, personally. I'm just kidding. By the way you two are dressed, I can see that you two are dating. Angel, how are you in history?" He said.

"With how good my grades are, sir, you'd think I'd lived through it." Angel said with us all laughing.

"Good, maybe you can help Buffy. She's not really failing. She's close to it though. Her average is right now a 68. I know she can do better than that. She's been so busy with just being a teenager. That's a job in and of itself. It wasn't that long ago that I was a teenager myself." Mr. Callahan said.

"I thought I was failing. That's a lot better than I thought I was doing." I said laughing.

"We'd better get back to the library, so I can tutor you. It was nice to meet you, Mr. Callahan." Angel said extending his hand. Mr. Callahan shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you too, Angel. If you have any questions about what Buffy's studying, just ask me. I'll be happy to clear up any problems as quickly as I can. As I said before, Buffy is one of my favorites." Mr. Callahan said.

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Callahan." I said taking Angel's hand and leaving the room.

"He's a nice guy. I wonder when he came to America." Angel said.

"Not sure. He's always bent over backwards to help me. Why don't you ever talk like that?" I said.

"You like a bit of brogue? I'll have to remember that next time we make love. Maybe, it'll turn you on even more." Angel said kissing me on the cheek.

As if on cue Principal Snyder walked into the hallway and saw Angel kiss me on the cheek

"Buffy Summers, I'll see you in my office after first period. Bring him with you." He said. I hated that arrogant, little troll. The feeling was completely mutual. He wanted me out of this school more than anything. At least Principal Flutie wasn't that way. He was gentler, kinder. I could have talked to him better than this arrogant, little troll. I guess being kinder and gentler in this school is what gets you eaten.

"Yes, sir." I said. We got to the library.

"Ahh, Buffy, Angel, you're back." Giles said.

"Yeah, but Angel and I gotta report to the principal's office after first period, though." I said.

"Why?" Giles said.

"I think Snyder saw Angel kissing me in the hall. It wasn't a full on kiss. He only kissed me on the cheek." I said.

"I'm not mad at you. It's perfectly normal for you two to kiss. I mean you are married. That arrogant, little troll wouldn't know true love if it bit him in the ass." Giles said.

"Giles, is this the way you always talk about your boss?" I asked.

"I didn't talk this way about Principal Flutie. It's just Principal Snyder just aggravates me." Giles said.

"He aggravates everybody. I just met the guy and already I don't like him." Angel said.

The bell rang for break. Angel took my hand and led the way to Principal Snyder's office. I knocked on the door.

"Come in, Summers." He said.

"Yes, sir." I said walking in the door with Angel.

"Sit down. I called you in here because I saw that little **_kiss_** in the hallway. Displays of affection like that are not tolerated in this school. If I see one more thing like that from you two , Ms. Summers, you'll be out. You won't pass go or collect two hundred dollars. You'll be out so fast it'll make your head spin, get it?" He said.

"Got it." I said.

"Good. Dismissed." He said.

"Sir, does that include holding hands?" I asked.

"No, hand holding is fine, just no making out like that. Dismissed." He said.

I took his hand and walked out of the office. Angel and I walked outside and sat on a bench in the quad.

"That arrogant, little troll. How dare he give me an ultimatum? After all the times I've saved his sorry ass. You'd think he'd be a little more grateful." I said.

"Buffy, honey, he doesn't know. Maybe that's why he's not grateful. I don't really want him to know. To him, that's just an excuse to kick you out." Angel said.

"Oh. Oh, I see your point." I said.

"Good, so any displays of affection, will be left in the library or the bathroom." Angel said.

"Let's just hope that little troll doesn't come in the bathroom or in the library. If Giles catches us, he won't say a word to Snyder. To Mom, maybe, but Snyder, no." I said.

"Good. At least we can trust him." Angel said.

The bell rang for second period. Time to leave the quad and go to Algebra class. Just what I need, a boring class about numbers, and then a boring class about important events and dates. At least there is light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. I have fourth period free too. Angel and I can fool around again.

"Baby, I gotta get to Algebra class now. I'll meet you in the library at lunch." I said.

"Okay. I love you!" Angel said.

"I love you, more, lover!" I said as I hugged him.

I walked up the steps. Willow fell into step. She wasn't in the library when the big revelation came down.

"Hey, Will." I said.

"Hey, Buffy, so did you find anything out? Why did Angel suddenly become human?" She asked.

"Yes. It was the curse. It was two way. It said that if Angel achieved true happiness, he would lose his soul, but if he did it again, it would restore his humanity. I guess the gypsies didn't think he would still be in love after he lost his soul. I'm glad they didn't think that far ahead. If they didn't, my lover wouldn't be human. He is better as a human." I said.

"You're still glowing. Buffy!" Willow said.

"What? Will, what?" I said.

"Defying the rules like that. You're a vixen and a half. You're more than a vixen, Buffy. You're bold. I'll give you that." Willow said astonished that Angel and I would really make love at school.

"I know. It was exciting, even if the door was locked." I said picking up my waking pace a little, leaving her a little puzzled.

"What do you mean, the door was locked?" She asked.

"We were in the bathroom." I said.

"Vixen. I wish I could be as bold as you." She said.

"Remember what I told you. Carpe Diem. If you want more with Oz tell him." I said.

"No, no, no. No speaking up. That way leads to madness and sweaty palms." She said.

We reached Ms. Carter's class. We took our seats. Mine was in between Willow's and Xander's. On the other side of Xander was Cordelia. On the other side of Willow was Oz. I felt a little left out, that my husband couldn't be here with me. I would see him in a little while for lunch anyway.

Ms. Carter went on about numbers, letters and equations for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, the bell rang for lunch. I, finally get to see Angel again.

I almost ran out of the classroom. My friends fell in behind me.

"Hey, Buff, what's the hurry? I didn't think you liked the lunchroom food." Xander said.

"I don't. Just ready to see Angel again." I said.

"You never told us, What's what. I mean what happened to make him human, and is it permanent?" Xander said.

"I think you already know what triggered it, Xander. Yes, it is permanent." I said.

"That's convenient. You give the guy a happy, and he turns human." Xander said. I think I'll kill him, not Angel.

"Xander, stop right there. You know where I stand. You make fun of him like that again, and Angel won't like it. He'll probably beat you unconscious. Either bite your tongue, or Angel beats you up." I said in front of the others. I didn't care that they were around. He's got to be taught a lesson.

"Hey, I was just saying. Didn't mean anything behind it." He said.

"Good. Now, Can I go see my husband?" I said.

"We're not stopping you. Go on if you must." Cordelia said.

"Go. He's waiting." Oz said. He never says more than he needs to. I like that about him. He's a man of few words.

"I'll see y'all in history class, yes?" I said.

"Yes." They all said walking to the lunchroom.

I was on a different mission. I **_needed_** to see Angel. I opened the library doors, expecting to see Angel sitting at the table. He was nowhere to be found.

_"Shoot. After I completely ditched my friends, and ran all the way in here with my pants on fire, he's not even here. I'll get him for this later." _I thought.

I felt a tingle at the base of my spine. Then, everything went dark. Someone had covered my eyes.

"Shh, Giles is at lunch too. We have to place to ourselves. I brought a picnic, behind the stacks. If you eat quickly, I'm sure you get the gist of what I'm saying." Angel whispered. His whispers turned me on.

"We'd better eat quick. I only have twenty minutes for lunch." I said as he picked me up and carried me up the stairs to where he put everything.

"You packed all my favorites." I said.

"Yes. Let's just eat quick. I'm ready for dessert." He said.

We ate quickly. Next came dessert.

I toyed with him a little, "What'd you bring for dessert?"

"Nothing. I'm dessert." He said.

"I knew that. I was just funning with ya. Now kiss me, please." I said.

He brushed his warm lips against mine. He slid his hand under the waist band of my jeans and under my panties. His hand wandered all over my pulsing heat. I moaned and shuttered at his warm touch. He pumped two fingers inside my entrance. He stopped his pumping motion. I stood up and slid off my pants and panties. I laid down on the floor. He lowered his lips to my heat. He took my sensitive nub in his mouth licking, kissing, sucking, and nibbling on it. He continued his actions for about a minute. I came hard. Biting my lip to stifle my moans. He continued to suck until my breathing became normal. He pulled a condom out of his pocket. He unzipped his pants and pulled out his hard member.

"Wow, lover. You're as horny as I was." I said giggling.

"You have no idea. I need to be inside you." He said.

He ripped open the package and put the contents on. He sat and leaned against one of the bookcases. I straddled him. He pushed me down hard.

"Well, well, well, this is a new number, we haven't seen this one before." I said.

"Shut up, and kiss me." He said.

"Okay." I said as I leaning in and kissing him. He grabbed my hips and violently slammed me down onto him. I'm not complaining. I like it when he gets a little violent.

"Oh, lover. Do that again." I moaned. He slammed me down again.

"You like it rough?" He asked breathless.

"Sometimes, yesssss" I hissed.

"Good. I'll have to remember that." He said slipping into his brogue accent.

I got hotter hearing is accent, his native tongue. "Oh, god. Keep going." I said dazed in pleasure.

"As you wish." He said normally now.

It really didn't matter how he talked, just the sound of his voice sent my temperature up ten degrees.

"Kiss me, again. I can feel you coming." I said.

He leaned in and kissed me. He also came hard. He nuzzled at my neck for a moment.

"Wow." I said.

The library doors opened.

"Buffy, Angel, are you here? Are you done?" Giles said.

"Yeah, Giles. We're done." I said completely sated.

"Good. I told Angel that you were safe in here. That you could do what you wanted. I won't tell that little troll, Snyder. I won't even tell your mum. She probably already knows." He said.

"Thanks." I said.

I grabbed my pants and panties and slipped them on behind the bookcase. Angel discarded the condom and readjusted himself.

"Where are you two?" He asked.

"Here." We said popping out from one of the bookcases.

"Oh, good. I thought you had gone invisible for a moment." Giles said.

"Don't remind me of that whole debacle." I said.

"What's he talking about, baby?" Angel asked.

"It wasn't me. It was last year, a girl was invisible and terrorizing the school. Wanted to kill me and Cordelia." I said.

"Oh, you had me scared." He said.

"Good, you know what I mean." I said. He knew what I meant. He always said sex was better after a good scare, no wait that was Angelus. Now I'm getting the two confused.

"Okay. How was your lunch? Good, I take it?" Giles asked.

"Heavenly. Angel packed all my favorite foods." I said.

"What of dessert? I know he must have packed something special for that." Giles said.

We blushed.

"I knew what dessert was. I caught on when at heavenly." He said.

"I think I'd better think before I speak." I said.

"That would be good, but I like it when you speak then think." Angel said.

"When you're around me, please think, then speak." Giles said.

"Okay. I'll try to remember that." I said.

"Good." He said.

The bell rang for history class.

"I gotta get to history class. I'll see you in ninety minutes. I love you!" I said to Angel said.

"I love you too." He said pulling me close for a hug.

"At least your mind will be sated for information absorption." Angel whispered as he hugged me.

"Oh, yeah." I said kissing him lightly.

I walked out of the library and toward history class. Willow and the guys fell into step.

"Hey, guys. What's up?" I said.

"Nothing. Which begs the question, What's up with you?" Xander asked.

"Nothing." I said shooting a look to only Willow so she'd be the only who knew.

"Okay, if you say so. How was your lunch? You, practically ditched us for your husband. So, what happened to you at lunch?" Xander said.

"Angel brought a picnic for us." I said.

'Ooh, sounds romantic." Willow said.

"You have no idea. I'll tell you later, Will." I said.

"You're not gonna tell the rest of us. I'm hurt, Buff. I thought we were all best friends here." Xander said.

"It's girl talk, Xander. It wouldn't interest you anyway." I said.

We walked into class. I walked over to Mr. Callahan's desk.

"Top of the afternoon, Buffy." Mr. Callahan said in his brogue accent.

"Here's my assignments from the last few days." I said.

"Thanks, I hope you didn't tire yourself with my useless assignments." He said jokingly. Aside from Giles, he was my favorite teacher. He's, like I said earlier, the only one to bend over backwards to help me with anything.

"No, I actually understood it since Angel explained it. Although, I had a hard time understanding him, since he didn't slip into brogue." I said.

"Angel's Irish, too?" Mr. Callahan asked confused.

"Yes, sir. He moved to Sunnydale last year. He met me, and as they say…" I said.

"The rest is history. What's his last name?" He asked.

"O'Daniel." I said.

"O'Daniel. He must have money." Mr. Callahan said.

"Yes, sir. Why do you say that?" I asked.

"The only O'Daniels I knew had money." He said.

"May I ask you three questions?" I asked.

"Sure, Buffy, shoot." He said.

"What part of Ireland did you come from? When did you come to Sunnydale? Why Sunnydale?" I asked.

"I'm originally from Dublin. Relocated to Gorey with my wife to be near her family. We finally moved to America in 1992. We were in New York for a few months, then LA, then decided on Sunnydale. What part is Angel from?" He asked.

"Belfast. In Northern Ireland, I think that's where it is." I said.

"Yes, Belfast is in Northern Ireland. I think I should be teaching geography, you'd be doing a lot better." He said laughing.

"I'm gonna go sit down now." I said.

"Okay, I'll check your assignments and let you know how you did." He said.

"Thanks, Mr. Callahan." I said as I sat down.

Mr. Callahan was talking about the conflict in Vietnam. My mind wasn't on Vietnam, and Angel knew it. Even though he was in the library, he was tuned into my mind. I was daydreaming about our little lunch date in the library earlier. I bit my lower lip to keep quiet. Before I knew it, the bell rang. It was fourth period. Time to see Angel again. I don't know how I was getting through this day with everything we had done. I almost blushed at the things we did to each other, but instead smiled. I knew that there was more to come.

I walked to the library. I opened the doors. Giles was in the office, and Angel was nowhere to be found again.

_"I hate it when he does this. Does he like to make me sweat, and not in the good way?"_ I thought.

"Hey, Giles. Where's Angel?" I asked.

"I think he's in the stacks, waiting for you." He said.

"Thanks." I said racing up the stairs to find him.

I turned the corner and saw something I never thought I'd never see. Angel was jerking off.

"Oh, God, Buffy." He whispered.

I leaned in and kissed him. I moved to his ear and whispered, "Oh, God, baby, that feels good."

"You'll say that for real, in a second. No more talking. I need you. I need to be inside of you." He said. I slid off my pants and panties. He had already slipped a condom on in anticipation of me coming.

"Alright." I said straddling him, impaling myself onto him.

"Yesssss." He hissed. He put his hands on my hips and slammed me down on him.

"Oh, God, baby, that feels good." I whispered.

"See, I told ya that you would say that." He whispered.

"More, Angel, give me more, please." I whispered.

"Oh, hello, Principal Snyder." Giles said rather loudly.

"Shit, it's Snyder. You'd better get your pants and all on." He said grabbing my pants and panties off the floor and handing them to me. He readjusted himself as I put my pants and panties on.

"What book did you say we needed Giles?" I asked trying to convince that arrogant little troll we were working on extra credit for Mr. Callahan's class.

"Try Vietnam, an idiot's guide to everything you need to know about Vietnam" He said as we all, except Snyder, laughed.

"What are they doing in the stacks?" Principal Snyder asked.

"They are looking for books. Buffy has an extra credit history report on the Vietnam Conflict." Giles said. I was hoping that Snyder was buying it.

"Let's take these books and get to work." I said.

"Okay. Maybe this will help your grade." He said.

We took the books on Vietnam we'd found and made our way to the table. We took a seat and thumbed through the books. I grabbed my backpack and pulled out my laptop. I booted it up and brought up Microsoft Word. I began to 'work' on a paper.

"I just reprimanded them earlier for displaying affection in the hallway. They haven't in here, have they, Rupert?" Snyder asked.

"No, sir. They haven't. I've been on them like mud on a pig." Giles said.

"Good, if I hear of her displaying affection like that or worse, she's out." He said.

"If I see them, I'll send them straight to your office." He said.

"See that you do." He said leaving.

"Arrogant, little troll. I'm so sick of his shit. Stupid fucker. Can't we bend the rules just this once? The world would be a whole lot better off without that no good lying son of a bitch." I said.

"Buffy! My ears are bleeding. Is this how you talk about your elders? I hate to know how you talk about me." He said.

"Sorry, Giles. Ask Angel what I've said about you." I said.

Giles looked at Angel.

"She has never uttered a bad word about you, God's honest truth." He said.

"It's just Snyder, then." He said.

"Yes, sir. He totally hates me." I said.

"He hates everyone." Giles said.

"Hopefully, if you ever catch us…" I said.

"I won't say a word to the arrogant, little troll." He said.

"Good, one less thing to worry about. Now let's just worry about you graduating." Angel said.

I know I jumped ahead a little, but believe me, you don't want to know. I'll give you a crash course. Sunnydale High football team won the regional championship. The swim team was even doing good, until it came out that the coach was turning the members into fish. Angel fought by my side in that battle and every battle that came up. We're still together. It's been two years since the day in school where Snyder almost caught Angel and I making love. It's Graduation Day. It's been a month since we, I mean Faith and I, dusted Mr. Trick. Faith was the new slayer they sent after the first master drowned me.

The Mayor's speech went on for a few minutes, before the eclipse started.

"Take your positions, now!" I yelled to all the graduating seniors.

This was the fiercest battle Angel and I had ever faced. In the end, I lured Demon Mayor in to the school, namely the library, and blew up the school. It's just a shame that Faith didn't make it. She was a great warrior. She will be missed.

Later that night we were all sitting on the curb where the school had been.

"Guys, take a moment. We survived." Oz said.

"Yeah, I can't believe we survived the battle." I said.

"No, not the battle. High School. We survived. Take a moment. We're taking a moment. And we're done." Oz said. That's more words than he spoke in the past two weeks.

"Angel, you'd better go to Giles' apartment. We can't see each other before the wedding. I'll go home, you can call me. There's no rule that says we can't talk on the phone and maybe…" I said.

"Okay, lover. I'll see you in the park tomorrow. I love you!" he said.

"I love you more, lover." I said kissing him.

Willow fell into step with me.

"You nervous?" Willow asked.

"No, I get to marry Angel. Why should I be nervous? Mom is marrying Giles as well. Speaking of happy, How are things with you and Oz?" I asked.

"You told me just about everything about you and Angel. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't tell you about Oz and me?" She said.

"Not a very good one." I joked.

"We were together last night." She said.

"As in, Angel and me, together?" I asked.

"Yes. It was fabulous." She said.

"Was it the first time you and he made love?" I asked.

She blushed and said, "Yes, and yes. I could see the other question building in your mind. It was my first time period." She said.

"Willow, you mean Oz was your first?" I asked.

"Yes." She said.

"I thought you'd been with someone else before Oz." I said.

"Well, You weren't with anyone before Angel." She said.

"I know, but I was seventeen when he and I first made love. I see your point. We are one in the same. We both waited for love. Who can be mad at us for that?" I said.

"I know. I truly love Oz. The same way you love Angel. Who would have ever thought that we find our soulmates while still in high school." She said. We finally reached Revello Drive.

I threw open the door and Mom was in the kitchen, crying.

"Mom, are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine. I'm just so happy." She said.

"So these are happy tears." Willow said.

"Yes. I can't believe Buffy and I are having a double wedding tomorrow. I can't believe you guys are out of school." She said.

"I know. It's hard to believe that I graduated and that I'm getting married tomorrow. I can't believe I survived the biggest battle we've ever fought." I said.

"Which reminds me, Did Rupert make it?" Mom asked.

"Yes, he sends you love and a kiss. Says he can't wait to marry you either." I said.

"Good, I'm glad he's safe. Where's Angel?" She asked.

"He's at Giles'. We can't see…" I said.

"I know. I can't see Giles, and you can't see Angel. Sucks huh?" She said.

I nodded. "It really does. What time is it?" I said.

"10:30." She said.

"Dang, the battle lasted longer than I thought. Hey, I got an idea, Will. Why don't we all camp out here in the living room. Have a kinda slumber bachelorette party?" I said.

"Sure, I'll call Cordelia and see if she wants to come." Willow said.

"Okay, Will. I'll get the videos." I said.

"I'll get the snacks." Mom said.

"Cordy, It's Willow. Are you busy?" Willow said.

"No, Will, What's up?" Cordelia asked.

"Buffy wants to have a kinda slumber bachelorette party, you want to come?" Willow asked.

"Sure, I'll be there soon." She said.

"Good. I'll see ya soon. Bye" Willow said.

"Bye, Will." Cordelia said.

"So, what's the verdict?" I asked.

"She's on her way." Willow said.

"Good. Cordelia's really come around the last few months, hasn't she?" I said.

"Yeah, she has. So, what do we want to watch? Steel Magnolias, Fried Green Tomatoes, or Forrest Gump and Philadelphia." I said.

"Let's go with the Julia Roberts, Mary-Louise Parker combo. Instead of a Tom Hanks double feature." Willow said.

"Yeah, I agree. I like Tom Hanks, but I want the chick flick night." Mom said.

"I agree. I just don't think I want to watch a movie about a gay lawyer dying of A.I.D.S.. I don't think there is anything wrong with being gay, it's just it's a happy occasion and I want to see people die from natural stuff like diabetes and cancer." I said.

"Hear, Hear." Willow and Mom said together as Cordelia came in wearing her pajamas.

"I came as quick as I could. Let's veg." Cordelia said. She was wearing green silk pajamas with little credit cards on them.

"Cool, Let's all get in our pajamas." I said.

"Oh, wait, I don't have any." Willow said.

"Don't worry, you can borrow a pair of mine. Just not purple silk shorts. Those are the ones I'm gonna wear." I said.

"Wasn't gonna. I'll get something else. Let's raid your closet." She said.

"Okay. Mom, would you like some of my pajamas? I don't mind you wearing them." I said.

"We never swap clothes like that. I don't know why. So, why not start now? I mean we are gonna be living together forever, right?" She said.

"If I have my way, we will." I said hugging Mom.

We walked up to my room. I went over to my closet and pulled out my favorite pajamas. Willow grabbed my electric blue silk pajamas. Mom grabbed my deep purple silk pajamas. I went to my desk and grabbed my laptop and my digital camera.

"Just look at us. I'll have to get some pictures of this night." I said laughing at the way we looked. Angel would love the sheer innocence of the way I looked carrying my laptop, camera, and Mr. Gordo. Wouldn't want to forget him. Willow had the videos. Mom went in the kitchen for the snacks. Willow and Cordelia sat in the floor. Mom and I sat on the couch. I set up my laptop and camera on the coffee table. I booted up the laptop. Windows 98 came up. I had my collection hid, so if anyone booted up, they wouldn't see it. I bought up my Yahoo Instant Messenger. After I taught Angel to use a computer, he went out and bought him one. We usually IM back and forth at night as foreplay.

Willow put on 'Steel Magnolias'. Halfway through it, Angel popped on my messenger. I have him in a special category. He was marked as lover.

"I can't believe in a little under 24 hours that we are going to be married." Slayer81slover said. That's his user name.

My user name is Slayer81. "I know, it's so hard to believe how far we've come in just four years. You were a vampire. We made love. You turned into Angelus. I got put in the hospital. We killed Spike and Drusilla. We made love again. You became human. We killed the mayor and blew up the school. It's exhausting just typing all of that." I said.

"What are you wearing, Lover?" He asked.

"My pajamas." I said.

"My favorite ones, I take it? Purple silk with those short shorts?" He asked.

"What else would I wear, besides nothing?" I said sending the little emoticon meaning smiling.

Angel sent the emoticon that was winking. "I know what you want." He said pulling the laptop in my lap to hide what I was typing from Mom and the others.

"What are you wearing?" I asked.

"My boxers. Don't worry I'm in the guest room. I don't think Giles would want to see me in my boxers." He said.

"Good. Hang on and I'll go up to our room. Then we can get comfortable." I said.

"Okay, I will be right here waiting for you." He said.

I told everyone that I was going upstairs. I made my way up there. I walked into my room. I closed the door behind me and locked it. I put my laptop on the end of the bed. I grabbed my pillow and laid on the bed in front of my computer.

"I'm back. You said you were wearing your boxers, right?" I said.

"Yeah." He said.

"My favorite ones, the purple silk?" I asked.

"What else?" He said.

"Ooh. What would we be doing right now if we were together?" I said.

"Depends on where we are, and what you are wearing." He said.

"We are in Sunny Rest Cemetery. I'm wearing a see-through purple spaghetti strap top and a mini skirt. No underwear, because I know you're out there, hunting me, hunting you." I said.

"I can see you patrolling near the Van Windsor crypt, the spot where I found the Glove of Mynhegon. I see you turn your back to check out a noise. Then I tackle you against a tombstone. I slip my hand under your skirt, feeling your hot wetness. I slide the skirt up and see your glistening lips. I lick my lips, just thinking of how you taste. I slide my hand over your pulsating heat. I can feel you shiver as I do that. I can't wait to taste your heat." He said.

"Then don't. I push your mouth onto my aching heat." I said.

"I suck, lick, kiss, and nibble on the soft bud between your lips." He said.

I sat up and toyed with my nipple, desperate for the pressure. "Oh, Angel. That feels so good." I said.

"Are you close?" Angel asked.

"No, I'm not… I'm only…" I said.

"You're not touching yourself yet?" He asked.

"Yes and no." I said.

"What does that mean?" He asked.

"Yes, I'm touching myself just not down there yet." I said.

"You're touching your soft breasts, right? Pretending I'm kissing your nipples?" He asked.

"Yesssss. It feels good. Oh, God, Angel." I said.

"You must like it when I kiss your nipples?" He said.

"Yesssss." I hissed.

"Then I'll do it harder." He said. I tweaked harder.

"Oh, God, Angel." I moaned. I moved my hand to my hungering clit.

"You've gotten quiet. You touching yourself now?" He said.

"Yesssss. Oh, Angel, that feels good." I said.

The phone rang. .

_"Oh, shit! Who is calling me right now?" _I thought.

"Hello?" I answered.

"You still touching yourself?" Angel said.

"Oh, It's you. No, I stopped when the phone rang. Now, what were we talking about?" I asked.

"We were in Sunny Rest Cemetery. I was having a good feel and kissing your soft breasts." He said.

"Oh, God, Angel." I said tweaking my nipples again.

"You're pretending that I'm kissing your breasts again?" He asked.

"Yesssss." I hissed.

"Good, I'll kiss harder." He said as I tweaked harder.

"Yesssss. I like that. Keep going." I said.

"I'm tired of kissing your breasts. I want to taste your heat." He said.

I slip my hand under the waistband of my shorts. "Then do it. Taste me. I just wish it was for real." I said massaging the soft nub between my wet lips.

"Me too, if there was just some way. Are you…" He said.

"Yesssss." I hissed.

"Good. Let me hear you come, Lover." He said.

"Oh, my God, Angel." I whispered a moan into the phone.

"Are your eyes open?" Angel asked.

"Yes." I whispered another moan.

"Good, I want you to see everything when you come." He said.

"Hey, Oh, God, never mind." I whispered again.

"You're getting close, aren't ya?" He asked.

"Yesssss." I hissed.

"Stop everything." He said.

"Okay. Why?" I said.

"You remember, I like to tease you. You remember it makes you come harder." He said.

"Okay. How long do I wait?" I said.

"Just a second. Okay." He said.

"Okay. I miss you." I said.

"I miss you, too." He said.

"No, I mean I **_really_** miss you." I said.

"I know you do. Why else would you be touching yourself?" He asked.

"If you were here, and I'm trying to turn you on." I said.

"You can start again." He said.

"Oh, God, I'm way ahead of you." I moaned.

"That feel good, Lover?" He said.

"Oh, God, yes, Angel, yes." I whispered another moan into phone.

"Stop, you're getting close again, aren't you?" He said.

"Oh, yes, Angel, yes." I said.

"Stop." He said.

"Okay, but do that again, and I'll hurt you." I said.

"How? You're the one controlling it, not me." He said.

"Damn it, Angel, don't turn this around on me." I said.

"Well, you are. I'm just a voice on the phone. Telling you, oh God, what I want you to do. You're the one listening to what I say." He said.

"'Oh, God'. Angel are you…" I said.

"Yep." He said.

"Oh, well, can I start again?" I asked.

"Oh, God. Of course you can. I'm getting close. I wanna come with you." He said,

"Good." I said resuming the massaging the soft nub between my hot, wet lips.

"Are you close?" He moaned.

"Yes, you?" I moaned.

"Yes." He moaned back. His last moan is what sent me over the edge.

"Oh, God, Angel. I'm coming." I moaned in a loud whisper.

"Oh, Buffy. Me too." He moaned or should I say roared in a loud whisper as well. He didn't want Giles to hear him.

"Oh, wow. If phantom sex is this good on our last night as single people, I wonder what making love to my husband is gonna be like." I said not thinking clearly.

"Honey, we've been married for four years. Don't you remember the ring on your left ring finger. The one I gave you the night of your seventeenth birthday. The night you gave me your virginity." He said.

"Yeah, **_spiritually_** we've been married for four years. Legally, we're still single." I said.

"You have a point there. After tomorrow, I'll never leave you. You'll be stuck with me for life, baby." He said.

"Good, I don't want you to leave." I said.

"You can't get rid of me. What time is it?" He said.

"It's after midnight." I said.

"We need to be asleep. We've got a big day tomorrow." He said.

"I know. We are finally going to be married, legally. I can't wait." I said.

"Well, I'll let you go, for now, not for good. Like I said, you are stuck with me." He said.

"You'd better not let me go forever, or you'll have me to deal with." I said.

"What would you do to me?" He asked.

"I would torture you. Angelus has nothing on me. I've got some tricks, that **_he_** doesn't even have in his rolodex of tortures." I said.

"Like what?" He said.

"Leave me and find out." I said.

"Just tell me." He said.

"Remember the whole tongue biting thing?" I said.

"Oh, yeah." He said. I knew he loved that one. It drives him crazy.

"Let's just say, I can do that in other places and make it hurt a lot more." I said.

"Oh, I don't think he knew that one." He said.

"Oh, yeah. Trust me it hurts a lot worse than my inner muscles squeezing your cock." I said.

"No, that feels good. It doesn't hurt, but if you say it hurts, I'll take your word for it. I don't want to experience pain. I never did like it much. Angelus did, I don't" He said.

"Never leave me, and you won't find out." I said.

"Done. I sound like a broken record. You're stuck with me forever." He said.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey, what?" He said.

"I love you, more than you'll ever know!" I said.

"You don't have to tell me that. I already know. I knew that the night of your seventeenth birthday. I love you, too!" He said.

"I know. I've known since then too." I said.

"We still on for tomorrow?" He asked.

"You meet me 1:30, Sunnydale Park. Near the trees. I'll be the one of the ones in a veil under the Weeping Willow." I said.

"Okay." He said.

"I love you!" I said.

"I love you more, Lover soon to be wife." He said.

"Lover, I'll see you tomorrow." I said.

"You can bet on that. Bye." He said.

"Bye, Lover" I said as I hung up the phone.

I was alone again, without my lover. I haven't felt like this since I was fifteen. I hated feeling like this. At least there is light at the end of the tunnel though. After tomorrow I'd never be alone again. I'm finally marrying Angel, my soulmate, my better half.

That night while it was raining, I sat in my room at my desk. I wasn't doing anything in particular, just thinking about how lucky I am to be with my soulmate. Mom is lucky too. She is with her soulmate as well. As I sat at my desk, I decided to write Angel a letter that was to be read on our wedding night.

The letter read as follows:

"Dear Angel,

It's 2:00 A.M., and I'm wide awake, listening to the sound of the rain, beating heavily on my roof. I close my eyes and I see us in your bed, you lying there beside me. The sound of the rain takes me back and poof, I'm there. The night of my seventeenth birthday. The night we became lovers. You, my vampire, my one and only love. Your cool kisses on my feverish skin. Then I remember the day I got out of the hospital, when we went to pack up your stuff. We made love in the back of your car, and you became human. I hear it every time we are together. Your heart beating only for me. This makes me glad. Glad we can finally be together. I would give my life so that you could live a full life. We should have been mortal enemies, but I love you so much. I close my eyes again and see your trademark half smile. I can't believe we're together. You're really human now, and I caused it. I wonder to myself if you're asleep right now, but I can feel you tuning into my thoughts, and I know that you're as wide awake as I am. I'm so glad that the P.T.B. decided to let us be together. I love you more than you'll ever know. My Angel, my hero, the one who always rescued me. I'll always stand by your side. I'd rather make love to you, than have sex with anyone else in the world. You were my first, my only. My one true love. When I died, you were so upset, but you cheered up when Xander brought me back to life. My only reservation for leaving was, not seeing you again. The first thing I remember seeing is your face that night. I know it may sound corny, but I know we got a once in a lifetime love. We are truly soulmates. That the P.T.B. sent you to me for a job well done, to make me feel normal. I am so grateful to them for sending you to me. I love you more that anything in this world. I'm so glad I'm your wife. I can't wait until we start a family together. I really do love you.

Your Forever Love,

Buffy.

Buffy I

Loves Love

Angel You

4-ever! 4-ever!

I turned off my lamp and went to my window. It stopped raining. Finally, I can get some sleep. I walked over to my bed and climbed in.I fell asleep.

I woke up at 8:30 in the morning to the sound of Willow knocking on my door. Shit, I'd forgotten I'd locked it the night before.

"Buffy, it's 8:30." Willow called from behind the door.

I walked over to the door and unlocked it. I opened it and joked, "Thanks. Now give me the weather report."

"Ha. Ha. Ha. That's funny. I'll let you have your fun, since you are getting to marry the love of your life." She said.

"How's Mom? Panicking?" I asked.

"You have no idea. She was more worried about you not being up yet. Why'd you sleep so late?" Willow said.

"It was raining last night. I can't sleep when it rains." I said.

"Why? Unless it's too personal." She said.

"No. It rained the night of my seventeenth birthday." I said.

"I can always sleep better when it rains." Willow said.

"I can't. When it rains, I'm reminded of the night I lost my virginity, and I wish Angel could be here to make love to me." I said.

"Buffy, you're finally awake." Mom said.

"Yes, ma'am." I said.

"Why'd you sleep so late?" She asked.

"It rained last night. I can't sleep when it rains." I said.

"Why?' She asked.

"It rained the night of my seventeenth birthday. The first time Angel and I made love." I said.

"That's a good reason not to sleep. Remembering the first time you made love to Angel." Mom said.

"I can't help it. It's been that way since the night after my seventeenth birthday. He is too. I could feel him last night, tuning into my thoughts. Which reminds me, Will, can you keep this safe for me until the reception?" I said.

"Sure, what is it?" Willow asked.

"I wrote a letter to Angel last night, while it was raining. I wanted to give it to him tonight, you know, before we make love for the first as husband and wife, legally." I said.

"Oh, It's not in and envelope. Can we read it?" Mom said.

"I don't mind if you read it to yourselves." I said.

They unfolded the letter and read it.

"'I'm so glad that I'm your wife.'," Mom said.

"He's gonna read tonight, on our wedding night." I said.

"Oh, It was beautiful." Mom said.

"Do you think he'll like it?" I asked

"Oh, course. If it's from you, he'll love it." Willow said.

"Good. I hope he will. At least my mind is sated for what is going down in a little while." I said.

"'Sated'. What does that mean?" Mom asked.

"I think you two already know what that means." I said.

"Did you see Angel last night?" Mom asked.

"No, we talked on the computer and on the phone." I said.

"Oh, okay. I know all I need to know. You were with him, without being with him." Mom said. Willow looked confused.

"What are you talking about, Mrs. Summers?" Willow asked.

"Think a moment, Willow." Mom said.

"Oh. Oh. **_Oh._** I get it. Like I always said. You're a vixen, Buffy, a bold vixen." Willow said.

"When did you say that, Willow?" Mom said.

"Three years ago. When Angel became human." Willow said.

"Why?" Mom asked.

"Mom, are you sure you want to hear this?" I asked.

"Yes, I am. You may be getting married, but I'm still your mother." She said.

"Angel and I made love at school, on several occasions." I said.

"Is that all? I thought Willow meant you were doing drugs in the bathroom at school." She said.

"You knew?" I asked.

"Rupert told me that he gave you and Angel carte blanche to do whatever you wanted to do in the library." She said.

"Oh, so you're not mad?" I asked.

"No, you and he have been married since you were seventeen, so no." She said.

"Did he tell you some of the details?" I asked.

"No, he didn't. You want to now?" She asked.

"Sure. There was one time Angel brought a picnic for he and I, and he set it up in the stacks of the library. It was so romantic. We made love behind the stacks that day." I said.

"I already knew about the picnic." She said.

"How?" I asked.

"How do you think Angel knew what to pack for your lunch?" She asked.

"Oh, good point. The only person that knows about the next one is Giles." I said.

"Oh, goody, a secret. I love secrets. The juicier the better." Mom said.

"It was later that same day, and don't ask me how many times in that one day we made love, because I don't know. Snyder had gotten on to us for kissing in the hallway earlier that day. It wasn't even a full on kiss. It was on the cheek. Anyway, We were behind the stacks and we're making love again, and Snyder comes in the library, and nearly caught us." I said.

"Buffy, you mean the principal almost caught you?" Willow asked.

"What happened?" Mom asked.

"When he came in Giles said hi to him really loud so we'd know. I pulled on my pants and all really quick. He readjusted himself. I asked him what books I needed for a non-existent history report on the Vietnam Conflict." I said.

"I can't believe Rupert didn't tell me that one. He told me a lot of the times that you two were making love in the library. It had to be sad for you when you blew up the school. All those memories you and Angel had made in the library and the bathroom." Mom said.

"Yes, ma'am, it was sad, but we'll always have the memories." I said.

"What time is it now?" Willow asked.

"9:30. We've got time. We'd better get to the beauty shop. Shelby will be mad if we're late. She's doing our hair for free. She's been a close family friend since we moved here." Mom said.

"Okay, Mom." I said grabbing my jeans off the bed and slid them on. I grabbed my favorite Cartman tee-shirt. We headed out the door.

We got to Shelby's at 9:45. We were early. Thank God, I hope nothing goes wrong today, but you know as soon as someone utters that phrase, something is gonna go wrong.

"Well, Top O' morning, Buffy, Joyce, Willow and Cordelia." Shelby greeted us in her brogue accent. She is Mr. Callahan's wife.

"Hey, Shelby. How are you?" I asked.

"Can't complain. Wouldn't do me any good anyway. How are you?" She said

"I'm great. I'm so happy. How's is Mr. Callahan today?" I asked.

"John's as outgoing as ever. I can't seem to get him to budge from the couch. Ever since you blew up the school, it's like he has no purpose. I know you had to do it, but he's so depressed." Shelby said.

"Is he here? I'd like to see him. Tell him thank you for all he did for me back in high school. He always bent over backwards for me." I said.

"Right through that door, Buffy. I'm sure seeing you will cheer him up." Shelby said.

"Besides, the new school is gonna be finished by fall. He'll be good by then." I said.

"Yep, maybe that'll be the thing that perks him right up." She said.

I walked into the den where John was.

"Mr. Callahan, it's Buffy." I said.

"Buffy, one of my favorite ex-students. How have you been? Come here to get your hair done?" He asked.

"Yes, sir." I said.

"What's with the formality? You can call me John. You're not my student anymore." He said.

"Yes, sir." I said.

"You didn't answer my questions." He said.

"I'm great. Yes, sir, I did come to get my hair done. It's a special day." I said.

"Oh, yeah, you and Angel finally tying the knot." He said.

"Yes, sir. Are you gonna come? I want you to be in the front row, with your lovely wife." I said.

"I wouldn't miss it. You of my favorite ex-students is getting married. I can't believe how well you've grown up, Buffy. One minute, you're in my class, with a deer in headlights look, now you're grown up and getting married. I'm happy for you. I heard that Snyder isn't going to be the principal at the new school. Do you know why?" He said. I guess he hadn't heard that Snyder got eaten by the mayor.

"Yes, sir. I know why. Principal Snyder is dead." I said.

"How?" He asked.

"The mayor ate him. It's a long story. It happened during graduation." I said.

"And did you?" He asked.

"Yes, sir. Wasn't exactly top of the class, but I made it, none the less." I said.

"Good. I'm glad to hear that you made it out of high school alive." He said.

"Me too. I'll see you at the wedding, yes?" I said.

"I'll be there with bells on. Just kidding. I'll be there. Don't you worry." He said rising from the couch and giving me a hug.

"I'll see you there." I said leaving the room.

"How is Mr. Callahan, Buffy?" Willow asked.

"He got off the couch and hugged me. He said he'd be at the wedding." I said.

"He actually got off the couch! I should have sent for you sooner." Shelby said laughing. We all joined in.

"I can't wait. It's like a fairy tale. I found my soulmate when I was a teenager. How often does that happen?" I said.

"Not often. Most of us only settle for arranged marriages. I love John, but it didn't start out that way." She said as I settled into the chair.

"You can do my hair how you like it. I'm easy to please." I said.

"So am I. It doesn't matter, as long as I like it." Mom said.

"Hear, Hear." I said.

"I'm glad to see y'all have such faith in me." She said.

"Well, I usually just wear my hair up. In my line of work, you just don't have time for new hairstyles." I said.

"What do you do, Buffy?" Shelby said.

"Um… I don't think you'd believe me if I told you." I said.

"Try me. I've seen my share of strange things living on the Hellmouth." Shelby said.

"'The Hellmouth'. You know we're on a Hellmouth." I said.

"Yes. Vampires, demons, and the other strange things I've encountered. I've never encountered the slayer though." Shelby said.

"Consider yourself encountered. Pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm the slayer." I said.

"Buffy, you're the slayer, but you're so little." Shelby said.

"I may be little, but I'm strong." I said.

"Good, I haven't seen a vampire in awhile, so good show." She said.

"My fiancée used to be a vampire." I said.

"Angel was a vampire? How'd he become human, or is it too personal for you to tell me?" She asked.

"No, I'm perfectly comfortable telling you what happened. I was three years ago. I had just gotten out of the hospital. We went to his place to pack up his things. We packed up his car, or rather he did, I had to make a phone call. When we finally went out to his car we well… you know, and he became human." I said.

"He became human because you two made love. That sounds like a romance novel. It's so sweet. I think I'm gonna cry." She said.

"No, honey, don't do that. I have a strict policy that nobody cries alone in my presence." I said.

"You gotta stop watching 'Steel Magnolias'." Shelby said.

"Can't, it's my favorite movie. The close second is Fried Green Tomatoes." I said.

"Going for a Southern Fried theme, are we? I can't complain. They're my favorite movies too." Shelby said.

"Your name could have suggested that one, but you were born before that movie came out." I said laughing. Everyone joined in the laughter.

Shelby worked quick on my hair. Then set to work on Mom's.

"How hard is it being the slayer, Buffy?" Shelby said.

"Not hard. The toughest part is keeping my identity a secret. No one needs to know. You can tell John, but no one else. I don't want to forces of darkness hunting me down." I said.

"Done. No one will know. My lips are sealed." She said.

"Good. Let's just concentrate on the good points about today." Mom said.

"I know. We're getting married. I'm out of school. Things couldn't be better." I said.

"I know. I agree. It's so unreal that high school is over." Willow said.

Shelby finished Mom's hair and, set t work on Willow. I looked down at Deno. That's my watch. It has a hologram of a dragon on it. Stupid, I know, calling my watch Deno, but I do. He said it was 12:30. I can't believe it's only an hour until I walk down the aisle and say 'I do' to my soulmate.

"What time is the wedding?" Shelby asked.

"1:30 at Sunnydale park." I said.

"Well, we'd better stop chatting, and get you to the park on time." Shelby said.

"I can see the question forming in your mind, Shelby. Ask it." I said.

"Why didn't you have it where you and Angel first met, or where you hung out the most?" Shelby asked.

"I didn't want my wedding in the Bronze or in the middle of a cemetery." I said.

"Good point." Shelby said.

Shelby got through with Willow's hair. Cordelia didn't trust her enough to do her hair. Cordelia did her own hair. Needless to say, it didn't look as good as ours. Shelby said that she and John would see us at the wedding. We left and headed for Angel's old apartment. It's pretty close to the park, Bronze and the hospital.

"Everything we need is here. I had Xander bring everything here." I said to Mom, Willow and Cordelia.

We got dressed and headed for the park. The colors for the wedding were purple and black. We had every purple flower and black rose west of the Mississippi. When we arrived at the park, it was 1:15. Don't ask me why, but Xander is gonna walk us both down the aisle, at the same time. I didn't want dad at the wedding. I figure, he doesn't visit, why invite him to **_my_** wedding. I saw Xander standing by a Poplar tree.

"Hey, what's up, Xan man?" I said casually.

"I was beginning to worry that you all wouldn't show." Xander said.

"Puhlease, me not show up to my own wedding. Not a chance in hell, Xan man." I said.

"Why do you keep calling me Xan man?" He asked.

"Isn't that your nickname?" I asked.

"Yeah, but you only call me that when you are drunk or stoned. Not that you've ever been stoned." Xander said.

"You've been drunk, Buffy?" Mom asked.

"It was only one time. Angel was there with me the whole time. After the party, we snuck in the house, so you wouldn't find out about it. A lot of damn good it did. Thanks, Xander." I said.

"Welcome." He joked.

"Buffy, I'm so disappointed in you, but you're a teenager. You're gonna do things like that. What am I bitching for? After today, you're somebody else's problem, not mine." Mom said.

"Mom! You're turning your back on me?" I said.

"No, I just wanted to make you feel a little bad. I'll always be with you. You'll always be my baby, no matter how bad you mess up." Mom said holding her arms open. I rushed into them hugging her like I'd never see her again. When in reality, we are going on our honeymoons together. Angel arranged for us all to go to Ireland, to his hometown. Little did I know that wasn't the only surprise he had in store for us.

Finally, 1:30. Time to get married. Angel and Giles had taken their places at the 'altar'. Xander linked arms with Mom and myself, and we walked down the aisle. I looked out at all the faces in the crowd. My favorite aunt, Kathy, even made it to the wedding. I hadn't seen her since I was fifteen, since the divorce was finalized. She's my Mom's sister. She lives in Alabama now, with her husband, Wade and four kids James, Shelby, Lee, and Linda. Next to my cousin Celia, who died, Linda is my favorite cousin. They used to live in L.A. with us. After the divorce was finalized, they moved to a little town called New Site, about an hour from Montgomery. Uncle Wade and my cousins even came to the wedding. I thought they would just send a gift. We, finally, made it to the 'altar'. I looked into Angel's deep chocolate eyes. It made me shiver. I'm so scared. I've never been this scared before in my life. Not even the time the master killed me. I wasn't scared that night, not a good example. The only thing that comes close is the night of my seventeenth birthday, the night I gave Angel my virginity. That isn't even really close. Xander let go of Mom first and handed her to Giles. I turned to him. He was crying. He's still in love with me. He finally realized, he'll never have me. I kissed him on the cheek as he handed me to Angel.

"We are gathered here today to join these men and women in holy matrimony. If there is anyone here who objects to the union of Joyce and Rupert, speak now or forever hold your peace?" the minister said. No one stood up. I hate this part of the ceremony.

"If there is anyone here who objects to the union of Buffy and Angel, speak now or forever hold your peace?" He asked. I saw Xander inhale. I glared at him, saying "Speak and die". He didn't say a word. Everyone giggled at me glaring at Xander.

"Good, let's proceed. Joyce and Rupert will recite the normal vows. Buffy and Angel have prepared their own. I'll let them take it away. Who will start?" The minister said.

"Ladies first." Angel said.

"Angel, from the first day we met, I knew something was amiss about you. But instead of dismissing it, I embraced it. We should have been mortal enemies, you and I. Should have fought to the death a lot of times, but instead chose to love each other. I'm so glad that I had you through all the battles we've faced. In this cold and lonely world, I had you to light my way and keep me warm at night. After everything we've been through, we're still here, still together. After all the obstacles that they threw our way, we made it. We've made it through everything they threw at us. The demon mayor, the judge, Spike and Drusilla, the anointed one, the master, after all of that, including me dying, we're still here. I love you more than anything else in this world. I'll do my best to be the best wife possible. I've had pretty good role models in my life, Mom and Giles, Aunt Kathy and Uncle Wade. I love you guys. I never knew what the term soulmate meant before you. You are without a doubt my soulmate, my better half, my lover, my friend, my savior. You were the one who always saved me when I needed it, and for that I owe you my life. It's yours along with my eternal love." I said.

"Wow, how do you expect me to follow that? Buffy, mi amour, I love you more than anything. I, too, never knew the meaning of the word soulmate before you. We have been through a lot, as recently as yesterday. When we first met, I knew right away that I would get here with you. In over 200 years of existence I've loved only one person, you. Now that you're standing here with me, I know it was all worth it. The fights, the making up, and almost getting caught a few times, love really is the greatest emotion. Love saved me from an eternity of being damned. It's because of your love that I'm human. My life also belongs to you along with my eternal love." Angel said.

"Now, Angel repeat after me, I, Angel, take you Buffy, to be my lawfully wedded wife." The minister said.

"I, Angel, take you, Buffy, to be my lawfully wedded wife." He said.

"To love, honor, and obey," The minister said.

"Hey, wait a minute, nobody said I had to obey**_ her_**." He joked. I punched him lightly. Everybody laughed.

"To love, honor and obey," Angel said.

We got through the rest of that part. Mom and Giles said their vows.

"Now I pronounce you and Buffy husband and wife Angel, you may now kiss the bride." The minister said.

"Finally. Mine, forever." Angel growled as he kissed me.

"Now I pronounce you and Joyce husband and wife, Rupert, you may now kiss your bride." He said. Giles kissed Mom lightly

"May I now present Angel and Buffy O'Daniel and Rupert and Joyce Giles. What God had joined together, let no man tear asunder." The minister said. We walked back down the aisle and headed this old mansion on Crawford Street. Angel found this place and thought it was perfect for the reception.

After everyone got to the mansion, we all sat around a big table. Angel stood.

"Thank you all for coming. I'd like to say a few words to my lovely wife. Buffy, I love you! No shocker there, if I didn't, I wouldn't have married you. I can't wait for our life together to get started. To Buffy and I, may we be together forever. One more thing, that little house on Revello Drive is not gonna cut it anymore, now that we are married. I hope you like this mansion, because it's our new home. It's my wedding present to you, your mom and Giles. I figure with all this room, we can all live together. On top of it, Mom and Giles can watch our kids grow up this way." Angel said as everyone raised their glasses.

"Thanks, for including us in this, Angel. I want you to know, you've been like a son to me, since you and Buffy began dating. I'd be honored to live with you and Buffy, and watch your kids grow up. I'd like to say a few words to my lovely wife as well. Joyce, I love you too. I love you the same way Angel loves Buffy. I, too, can't wait for our life together to start. We kept our love a secret for a long time. We didn't know how everyone would react to the fact that we are together, but they took that news just fine. To Joyce and I, may we also be together forever." Giles, or rather Dad said. I said when Mom and Giles got married, I'd call him Dad.

Aunt Kathy called from the crowd to Mom and Dad, "Let's hope this one works out this time. Hear, Hear."

Everyone laughed.

Willow stood up, "As you well know, the maid-of-honor has to make a speech, so bear with me. I'm not good at public speaking. Buffy, Angel, as your best friend, I've stood by you as your friend for four years. I've seen the ups and downs in your relationship, first hand. You guys were the 'will they, won't they' couple of the decade. I'm just glad you decided to give your forbidden love a chance. You guys gave me hope that I would find my soulmate. I did. I'm glad you gave me the chance to be there at the beginning of your relationship, that you, Buffy, confided in me about everything you and Angel did, and I mean everything. Let's all raise our glasses, the to soulmates, Buffy and Angel, Joyce and Giles." Willow said.

"To soulmates." Everyone said.

"Now, I gotta make a speech, Ahh, man. Just kidding. It's no secret that I never liked Angel. It's also no secret that I was in love with Buffy at one point in time. I'm not anymore. She is with her soulmate. I couldn't tear that apart, even if I wanted to. So, hears to Buffy and Angel, may they live happily ever after. Same with Joyce and Giles." He said.

"To Buffy and Angel, Joyce and Giles." They said.

"I've got something I'd like to do. Angel, I was listening to the radio and heard a song that sounded exactly like the way I feel. I went on-line and learned how to play it." I walked over and grabbed an electric guitar from one of the band members.

"I'd like to play it for you all now. Angel, this is for you." I said.

I began playing "Because You Love Me", By Jo Dee Messina. Luckily the band was country music fans. They joined in.

"I DON'T KNOW HOW I SURVIVED, IN THIS COLD AND EMPTY WORLD FOR ALL THIS TIME. I ONLY KNOW THAT I'M ALIVE, BECAUSE YOU LOVE ME. WHEN I RECALL WHAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH THERE'S SOME THINGS I WISH I DIDN'T DO. NOW I DO THE THINGS I DO BECAUSE YOU LOVE ME.

AND NOW THAT YOU'RE IN MY LIFE, I'M SO GLAD I'M ALIVE. BECAUSE YOU SHOWED ME THE WAY AND I KNOW NOW HOW GOOD IT CAN BE, BECAUSE YOU LOVE ME.

AND NOW THAT YOU'RE IN MY LIFE, I'M SO GLAD I'M ALIVE. BECAUSE YOU SHOWED ME THE WAY, AND I KNOW HOW GOOD IT CAN BE, BECAUSE YOU LOVE ME.

I BELIEVE IN THINGS UNSEEN. I BELIEVE IN THE MESSAGE OF A DREAM. I BELIEVE IN WHAT YOU ARE, BECAUSE YO U LOVE ME.

WITH ALL MY HEART AND ALL MY SOUL. I'M LOVING YOU AND I NEVER WILL LET GO. AND EVERYDAY I'LL LET IT SHOW, BECAUSE YOU LOVE ME. BECAUSE YOU LOVE ME. OOHHH. BECAUSE YOU LOVE ME." I sang.

Applause filled the room. I handed the guitar back and went back to my seat. Angel stood and hugged me. I looked up into his deep chocolate eyes. He was crying.

"Buffy, that was beautiful. I love you." He said as he kissed me.

Angel and I stood and walked over to the cake with Mom and Dad. Mom and I cut a slice and smashed it in Angel's and Dad's faces. Angel and Dad returned the favors. Everyone laughed. We took our seats. It was getting close to the time we leave to go on our honeymoon, but our plane doesn't leave until seven. I looked at Deno, he said it was six. We still had an hour. The band played "It's Your Love".

Angel and I stood and took our places on the dance floor. Mom and Dad joined us too. We danced our first dance as husband and wife.

Angel leaned over and whispered, "Now, you're stuck with me. If I hear of you sleeping with anyone else, I'll kill you."

"And I'll do the same. You're really my soulmate. I don't want to make love to anyone else, but you." I said.

"I know what you mean. I'd rather make love to you for the rest of my life, rather than have sex with a thousand strangers." He said.

I looked at Deno again. 6:30. Damn, this day seems like one of the longest days of my life, with the exception of the day after I lost my virginity.

"I'm ready to get this show on the road. That reminds me, I wrote you a letter last night for you to read later on tonight. I hope you like it. I'll get it from Willow right before we leave. I asked her to hang onto it until we get ready to leave, which is in about 25 minutes." I said.

"When did you have time to write a letter? Lemme guess, last night, when it was raining." He said.

"Yeah, you were awake too, I take it?" I said.

"Yes. You know, I can't sleep when it rains." He said.

"Me, either. When it rains, I'm reminded of when you were a vampire, making love to me for the first time. I close my eyes when it rains, and I can see it all. Everything that happened that night fills my mind." I said.

"I know, me too." He said.

I looked at Deno again. He said it was 6:40 Finally, time to throw the bouquet. Then, it will be time to leave.

"Time to throw the bouquet, Angel. I'm so ready." I said.

"Alright, everybody. You know what time it is. Time to throw the bouquets." Xander said.

"Young, single girls, gather round." I said. I turned my back and threw the bouquet over my left shoulder. Willow caught it with no problem. Cordelia argues, to this day, that I threw it straight to Willow.

"Young, single men, gather round. Time to throw the garter." Xander said setting the microphone down and joining the crowd. I sat in a chair while Angel teased and kissed my legs while pulling the garter off. He stood up and turned his back. He threw the garter over his left shoulder. Oz caught it with no problems.

"Single women, gather round. Wait, there aren't many of you. Oh, well, all single women gather round." Xander said. Mom stood and threw the bouquet over her left shoulder. Cordelia caught this one, after fighting tooth and nail to get it.

"Not many single men either, so all single men gather round." Xander said setting the microphone down again. Mom sat in a chair while Dad teased and kissed her leg as he slid her garter off. Dad stood and threw it over his left shoulder. Xander caught it. Superstition tells us now that Willow and Oz will get married, and the Xander and Cordelia will. I looked down at Deno. It was now 6:50. Time to leave.

I walked over to Willow. She automatically knew why. She handed me the letter.

"Alright, time to see off the happy couples. Everyone got their rice." Xander said.

They throw the rice as we, I mean Angel, Dad, Mom, and myself, ran to the limo. We climbed in and settled down.

"Hey, didn't you say that you wrote me a letter? May I have it now?" Angel asked.

"I almost forgot. Here." I said handing him the letter.

He unfolded it and read. As he read, his eyes welled up with tears.

"Buffy, this is too much. I knew you were awake last night, but I didn't know you wrote something this beautiful." Angel said.

I skipped ahead again because, well you know just about everything that happened. Angel and I got married. Mom and Dad did too. You know I've started calling Giles, Dad, since he and Mom got married. I'm pregnant. It's Angel's and my first time experiencing this. I'm even more scared than on my wedding day. What if I don't turn out to be a good parent.

"Mom, did you call Angel? He's at work." I said.

"Yes, he'll meet us at the hospital." She said.

"Where's Dad?" I said.

"He's at work with Angel. They'll meet us there." She said.

"You didn't call Father, did you?" I asked.

"No, he never bothered to show up when you were younger, why would he bother now?" She asked.

"Good point. That was the main reason I didn't invite him to the wedding. I wonder what he's gonna think when he finds out another man has taken his place in our lives. Not only that, but he also has a grandchild that he'll probably never see." I said.

"I don't know, but I'd like to be a fly on the wall when he does." She said laughing. I was in too much pain to laugh.

Mom helped me get into her beat up old jeep. We drove to the hospital. Mom ran to the emergency desk.

"Please can you help me? My daughter is in labor." Mom said to the red-haired nurse. It was the same nurse that was on duty the night Angel brought me to the hospital when I had the flu.

"I'll page Dr. Wilkinson. Dr. Wilkinson, to the E.R. stat." She said over the loudspeaker.

"What's the problem? Mrs. Summers, it's good to see you again." She said.

"I wish I could say the same." She said.

"What's wrong? Is it Buffy?" Dr. Wilkinson asked.

"She's in labor." Mom said.

"Labor! I thought Angel was a vampire?" She said.

"Long story. Short version is they made love again after Buffy got out of the hospital and Angel became human. Last year, she and Angel got married, now she's pregnant. She expecting twins. She's in the car." Mom said.

"I need a wheelchair. We got a pregnant woman outside in active labor." Dr. Wilkinson said.

They ran out to the car. I was doing my breathing.

"Where in the hell is Angel? He should have been here by now." I yelled.

The car door opened. I expected to see Mom and the doctor. It was Dad and Angel.

"Oh, honey, I'm sorry. The new principal is worse than Snyder, he wouldn't let us go." Angel said picking me up out of the car.

He began walking to the hospital entrance. We were met by Mom and Dr. Wilkinson.

"Buffy, nice to see you again. I hear you're having twins." Dr. Wilkinson said as Angel put me in the wheelchair.

"Dad, could you get Mr. Gordo and my bag from the car?" I asked Dad.

"Sure, sweetie, No problem." Dad said.

They wheeled me into the hospital's emergency room. Angel picked me up and placed me on a gurney. Dad came rushing in the emergency room carrying Mr. Gordo and my bag.

"Dad, give me Mr. Gordo. I need something soft to cuddle." I said weakly. He handed me the stuffed pig.

"Don't worry, baby. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." Angel said holding my hand.

"We need to get her in the delivery room, now." Dr. Wilkinson said.

"May I go in there with her?" Angel asked.

"Of course, you can, Angel. You're the father, so yes." Dr. Wilkinson said.

"Good." He said.

"Angel…" I said.

"I'm here, mi amour. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." Angel said.

They wheeled me up to the delivery room. Angel never let go of my hand.

"Alright, Buffy, I need you to push, okay?" Dr. Wilkinson said.

I nodded. I began pushing. I was in so much pain.

"Good, Good. That's good, Buffy. Stop." Dr. Wilkinson said.

I stopped and rested.

"Your doing fine, baby." Angel said lightly kissing my forehead.

"I need you to start pushing again." She said.

**Twenty-six hours later**

"Buffy, one more push, and the first one will be here." She said.

"I can't. I'm too tired." I said.

"Buffy, you can do this. I believe in you." Angel said lightly kissing my forehead. He took a towel and wiped the sweat off my forehead.

"Okay." I said. I started pushing again. The first baby was here.

"It's a girl." She said.

"We've got a little girl." Angel said lightly rubbing my forehead.

"Okay, Buffy. I need you to push again. The next one is ready to be born." She said.

I pushed again. The second baby was here.

"It's a boy." She said.

"I've got a son?" Angel said.

"Yeah, you do." Dr. Wilkinson said.

"Oh, man. I'm tired." I said.

"We're not through yet. We've still got the after-birth." She said.

I pushed one last time to get rid of the after-birth.

"You can rest now. Would you like to hold your babies?" Dr. Wilkinson said.

"Yes, please." I said.

"Here." She handed me the babies.

"Oh, Buffy. They're so beautiful. I love you." Angel said.

"I love you, too." I said.

"Have you picked out names?" Dr. Wilkinson said.

"Oh, right. I almost forgot in the fatigue. I think for the boy will be Angel William O'Daniel Jr.. For the girl Alexandra Leigh O'Daniel. What do you think, honey?" I said.

"I think that is beautiful. So it is. Oh, Buffy, I just hope we're good parents." Angel said.

"Now remember you two, you can't make love for six weeks. Don't worry, you will be. And so new life begins." Dr. Wilkinson said.

**THE END**


End file.
